The Promise
by RatedrKjErIcHo
Summary: Adam and Chris are best friends serving together during WWII. When Adam makes Chris a promise right before he dies, he has no idea what he is getting himself into. AU. Co Written with Hailey Egan
1. Chapter 1

November 15th, 1942 Warsaw, Poland

The rain poured around them as they hunkered down in the trenches just outside the walls of thick concrete and heavy barbed wire that separated them from the prisoners that were there. They had been under heavy gun fire from the enemy for over an hour. Adam Copeland looked over at his best friend Chris Irvine. They had been friends for as long as Adam could remember and had always had each other's back. Being in the trenches together during this horrible war seemed no different. Chris looked at Adam and Adam instantly realized Chris was going to be Chris. He was going to do something either brave or stupid.

"I am going to make a break for it. You and the rest of the boys cover me." Chris said.

"You can't go out there alone. That's suicide." Adam said.

"I have to. I have to draw the gun fire away from you guys so you can make it." Chris said. Adam grabbed his arm and pulled him back for a minute. "Copeland, let me go."

"No. Not alone. Cena!"

"What?"

"You and Orton cover us, we are going to make a break for it and draw the gunfire away from you guys."

"Alright. Just be careful." Adam looked at Chris and they got out of the trenches and ran along a side of the fence that was broken. Their feet stuck in the mud a little making their boots feel ten times heavier than they usually did. Bullets flew by their head and each man ducked the first on slot. Adam was near the side of the building with Chris right beside him. Or so he thought. An agonizing cry pierced the air and Adam looked back just in time to see Chris fall to the ground. Adam rushed back to his side. The rest of their platoon had made it out of the trenches and were neutralizing the enemy forces.

"Chris!"

"Do me a favor Copeland. Take care of Chels for me."

"I am not going to have to take care of her. You're going to be fine." Adam said holding on to his best friend's hand. Chris' blood was mixed with the dirt and the rain causing a reddish brown river to pool at Adam's feet. Evan Bourne, the young medic that had joined their platoon a few months earlier came rushing over.

"Promise me! Promise me you will take care of her." Chris sputtered coughing up blood. Adam looked over at Evan who shook his head grimly. There was nothing he could do for Chris.

"I promise." Adam said. "I promise I will take care of her for you." Chris managed a smile.

"Thanks Copeland. I knew I could count on…." His body went slack and he laid there on the ground motionless. Chris Irvine drew his last breath and died with his best friend holding his hand.

Chelsie Irvine sat on the porch of the house with her sister Jessica Cena. They had helped at the USO earlier and were now relaxing. Chelsie had came to stay with Jessica after their husbands went to war. Chelsie missed Chris so much. They had only been married a year. They were still in the honeymoon stage of things.

"Chels, are you okay?" Jessica asked her sister.

"I'm just thinking about Chris. I miss him Jess."

"I know you do. They will be home soon."

"How do you know that? This war is horrible."

"I know it is. I just have faith that it will." She said placing her hand on her five month pregnant stomach.

"Do you really think they will come back?"

"Of course. Have faith sis."

"Thanks Jess."

"Come on, let's go have some ice cream. I'm so wanting some." She smiled heading in the house. It had belonged to her husband, John's parents who left it to him when they died in a fire when he was young. The fire almost destroyed the house but it was saved. John was raised by his grandparents who died a few years earlier. John used the insurance money from his grandparents death and parents to rebuild it. The girls walked into the kitchen and Jessica sat down at the table as Chelsie grabbed bowls out of the cabinet and the ice cream out of the freezer. Chelsie hoped her sister was right. She hoped that both of their husbands would come home soon. She and Chris had met through her brother in law. John and Chris were in the same platoon and Chris had come home with him for the weekend. It was love at first sight. They were married by the end of the weekend.

"What kind of ice cream did you want?" she asked her sister not even bothering to turn around.

"How about strawberry?" she heard a deep male say from behind her. She turned around to see her sister tearfully hugging her husband and smiled. John was home. She looked a little past John to see another man standing there. Fear began to grow in the pit of her stomach as she looked at the stranger. She looked over to John who had a mixture of emotions in his eyes.

"Chels…..this is Sgt. Adam Copeland. He's in our platoon. We…we got special permission to come home. There's something we have to tell you." He said trying to fight the lump that was rising in his throat. Chelsie held onto the counter for dear life. She knew without them telling her that her beloved Chris was never coming back. But she closed her eyes holding on to the hope that she was wrong. That he was injured but alive. "Chris was killed." Chelsie felt the room spin at his words and her knees gave out. She sank to the floor in front of the sink, horrible sobs escaping her throat. Jessica looked up at her husband, her hand covering her mouth, silent tears streaking her face. John and Adam stepped forward, each of them taking a spot on the floor next to Chelsie. She laid her head over on John's chest and let him pull her to her feet. He walked her over to Jessica who held on to her sister for dear life. Adam stood there, his heart breaking for her. He looked over at John who stood there, tears welling up in his own eyes.

"Can you guys help me get her upstairs?" Jessica asked through her own tears. Both men nodded and walked close to the two women as Jessica walked Chelsie up to her room. Chelsie laid down on the bed and curled up into a ball crying. Chris had been the only family she had outside of Jessica and John. Their parents had died when she was sixteen and she had come to live with Jessica. She looked over at the picture of her and Chris on their wedding day and held the picture in her hands. He had promised her he would come back to her. He had promised her that once he came back, they would start a family. Instead, her brother in law had brought the news that he had died and all their dreams of a life together had died with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Co-Written by Hailey Egan Cena

* * *

><p>A few days later, they gathered with their friends and family to say goodbye to Chris. Chelise had barely said two words to anyone. She wanted it all to go away. She wanted this all to be a bad dream. She sat in the chair at the cemetery not looking at Chris' casket. If she looked at it, the reality of it would set in and she would have to face the fact that Chris wasn't coming home. She looked over to her left and saw her sister sitting with her husband. She was glad that John was home but also a little envious too. Then she looked to her right and saw Chris' friend sitting beside her. She felt strangely comforted that he was there.<p>

She sat there barely noticing that the soldiers were folding the flag up to hand to her. She raised her eyes as they handed it to her, a sob escaping her lips as she took it. The world began to spin around her the blue of the sky swirling with the green of the grass. She closed her eyes and held on to the side of her chair, trying to will the swirling to stop. She felt herself lurch forward and then darkness.  
>Hours later, she woke up in her room. Jessica, John and Adam sitting there looking at her.<p>

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jessica asked, moving to sit beside her on the bed. Chelsie simply shrugged. "I made you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Chels, you haven't eaten anything in three days. You need to eat." Chelsie turned her back to her sister and laid on the pillow, looking out the window. John looked over at Adam who shook his head and urged them to get out of the room. He pulled the tray over and sat down on the bed with the food.

"This looks delicious." he said taking a bite of the bread. She glanced over at him for a minute and then back at the window. "You know Chris always said you were stubborn. It was one of the things he loved most about you. But he wouldn't want to see you like this." he said between mouthfuls of bread.

"What makes you such an expert on Chris and what he would want? Or me for that matter?" Chelsie asked.

"You're right. I don't really know much about you. Only what Chris told me. But I do know a lot about Chris. He and I were friends for a really long time. He loved you. More than you will ever know. And he wouldn't want to see you like this. How about this, you take a few bites of food and I will leave you alone?"

"Why do you care so much? What does it matter to you if I eat or not?" she asked looking at him really for the first time.

"Because I made a promise and I always keep my promises." he said eating some more of the bread. She sighed.

"A few bites and you'll leave me alone?" he nodded.

"Until tomorrow morning." She sighed again and picked up the spoon and eating some of the soup Jessica had fixed for her.

"John, I am so worried about her. I haven't seen her this depressed. Not even when our parents died." Jessica said as they sat downstairs in the kitchen. She rubbed her hand over her stomach. He grabbed her free hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.

"Well, she hasn't sent Adam back down the stairs covered in soup so maybe he got her to eat something. She just lost her husband. We have to be patient with her." Jessica nodded and smiled at him. Both of them looked toward the stairs as Adam came back down with the tray nearly empty.

"She was going to sleep when I left the room." he said. Jessica smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Adam." she walked out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. John sat at the table and motioned for Adam to pull up a chair.

"Thanks for helping Adam." John said to him. "This is a difficult time and with Jess being pregnant, she can't do it all."

"Have you heard if we are going to stay?" Adam asked as they sat there drinking coffee.

"Yeah. We get a month furlow. They wanted to give time to get Chris's things in order plus I need to make sure my affairs are in order. I want Jess and our baby protected."

"I would like to stay. I made Chris a promise."

"Adam, you can stay here as long as you like."

"Thanks." Adam smiled.

"There is a guest room upstairs near Chelsie and one down here. Take your pick." John got up from the table. "I'm going to check on Jess. Adam, make yourself at home, please."

Adam watched as John walked away. He looked around the kitchen and got up. He walked into the living room and saw the photos. He saw photos of Jessica and Chelsie's parents, photos of John's family, and photos of Chris, Chelsie, Jessica and John together. He took one down of Chris and Chelsie. They looked so happy. Adam sighed. He hated that Chris was killed and now would never have the life he talked about with Chelsie. Adam laughed a little when he remembered Chris talking about Chelsie and the life he dreamed for them. He would always get this dreamy far off look in his eyes when he talked about having kids with her, growing old together. He really had loved her. He just hoped that he could keep his promise to Chris and help her realize that there was still life left to live.

Chelsie sat in her room rereading the last letter that Chris had sent to her. Tears fell down her face and hit the edges of the paper blurring the ink a little.

_Dear Chelsie,_

_Happy Anniversary Baby, As I sit here in this place, cold and dark, I am counting down the days until I can see you again. Just another week and I get to be with you for a whole month. I can't wait to hold you in my arms. The thought of seeing you again is the only thing that is keeping me going. I miss you so much but I promise you that I will be home with you soon and we can start a family. I love you Chelsie. Please don't ever forget that. I will see you soon. Chris._

She folded up the letter and placed it in the box. She had a keepsake box from everything from Chris. She placed it in it. She sighed and laid down. She didn't know how she would be able to go on without him. Could she go on without him? She felt the tears fall as she laid there. The tears for everything that she and Chris wouldn't have. The dreams that had died when he did.

Jessica laid in bed with her husband listening to her sister crying. She sat up. "I should go to her."

"No, Jess, she will be like this for awhile. She just lost her husband and crying is what she needs to do." John said to his wife. "Just let her for now. You can talk to her tomorrow."

She sighed and laid back down. She knew he was right but it was hard to hear. She felt her husband shift a little bit. She smiled at him and kissed him. She was so happy that he was home even if it was only for a month.

"Let's forget about things and be together." He whispered to her.

She smiled again and kissed him. She was heartbroken for her sister but she couldn't contain the fact that she was happy that her husband was home. They made love with more passion than they ever had. Once they were done, they feel asleep peacefully in each other's arms.

Adam sat in the living room and listened as the two different sounds filled the house. He looked at the picture of Chelsie and Chris again and realized that he had somehow managed to go through life closed off from love. He'd given his heart out once and it hadn't ended well. He swore to himself that he would never feel anything again. But as he sat there in John's living room, with the sounds of John and his wife making love and the sobs coming from Chelsie's room, he realized that maybe he had been wrong. He closed his eyes and sat back in the chair, the sounds in the house as conflicted as his own emotions. Chris' words ran through his head. The life he had so perfectly laid out for himself was echoing in Adam's mind. And Adam knew at that moment that he wanted it. He wanted a life with someone. But he couldn't worry about himself or his own heart at the moment.

He had to keep his promise to Chris. He had to take care of Chelsie. Even if it meant putting his own search for love on hold. Chris had been his best friend. His brother. And he had never let him down. He was determined that he wasn't going to start now. He slowly walked up the stairs and knocked on the door the Chelsie's room. She didn't answer. He opened the door slightly and saw that she was asleep on the bed. He quietly crept in and covered her up. She had a long way to go and he was determined to be there for her every step of the way.

Please Review!


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning John woke up and headed down the stairs where his wife was already hard at work making breakfast. She was still worried about Chelsie. John walked into the kitchen and kissed Jessica as he sat down and drank his cup of coffee. Adam walked down a few minutes later and sat at the table. He looked tired. John made a note to talk to him about it. There was a knock at the door and John and Jessica looked at each other. They hadn't been expecting anyone. Especially so early in the morning. John got up and answered the door and smiled a little. He stepped aside and let Randy and his wife Olivia in.

"Hey guys." John said.

"Hey, we wanted to stop by and express our condolences." Randy said somberly. "We would have been at the funeral but….Olivia wasn't feeling too well yesterday." Randy smiled over at his wife. She walked over to the table and sat down pushing some of her medium length brown hair over her shoulder. John had met the blue eyed beauty before and noticed that there was something different about her. She seemed to be glowing.

"I hope everything is okay." Jessica said as she turned around to look at them. She took in the way Olivia was sitting. The way her hand rested absentmindedly on her abdomen and smiled. "You're pregnant aren't you?"

Olivia looked up at Randy and smiled nodding. Chelsie rounded the corner just as the words left Jessica's mouth. Everyone stopped and looked at her. She had fresh tears in her eyes and flew back up the stairs locking herself in her room. It didn't seem fair. Her chance at happiness was gone and everyone around her was starting a family. Something she desperately wanted.

"Im going to go talk to her." Jessica said heading upstairs. She knew Chelsie was upset and she wanted to help her sister. She got to the room and knocked on the door. She heard Chelsie say go away. "Chels, it's Jess."

She heard her say come in. She walked in and saw her sister sitting in the window. It was one with the bench underneath that you could sit on. She sighed and walked over and sat down beside her.

"Chels, I know you're sad." She said to her.

"Everyone is getting their happy life except me. Don't I deserve to be happy?"

Jessica sighed and hugged her sister. "Chels, you do deserve to be happy and you will be again. I know how much you loved Chris. He loved you too. Chels, nothing about this is right. But you will be okay."

"How do you know that? Have you ever lost a husband? No." Chelsie said getting up. "Your husband is alive. You and he can be together like you were last night. You can make love to your husband. Kiss him and hear him say how much he loves you. You and he can have a family. I can't have that. My husband is gone and never coming back."

"Chels, I know I have no idea what you're going through. I'm just trying to help. I love you. You're my sister."

"Just go Jessica. I want to be alone." She said turning to face the window and turning her back on her sister.

Jessica sighed and headed to the door. She knew Chelsie needed time alone so, she would let her do what she needed to do. She came back downstairs and looked at Randy and his young wife.

"Jess, we didn't mean to upset her." Olivia began.

"She's not upset with you. She is just grieving over Chris. She will come around in time and apologize to you. A baby is a blessing." Jessica said rubbing her own belly.

"I know that. But part of me can't help but feel bad for her." Olivia said. Adam had slowly crept up the stairs and knocked on the door to Chelsie's room.

"Go away Jess. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"It's Adam." He said. When she didn't tell him to go away, he opened the door and walked into the room. "You okay?"

"I would be lying if I said yes. I am so far from okay. Jessica and Olivia get there happily ever after. They get to lay in bed at night with their husbands and have children. My chance at happiness is gone. I have no one outside of Jess."

"Did I ever tell you how Chris and I became friends?" Chelsie shook her head. "My mom lived down the street from Chris'. We used to play together in the woods behind the houses. My old man split before I was born. He was a mean drunk and he used to beat my mom. Anyway, my mom worked for Chris' family so to speak. She would help look after Chris after school. Mama got sick. It came on all of the sudden and by the time they caught the cancer, there was nothing they could do. Chris' family was so good to us. His mother never left her side. And she promised my mama on her death bed that she would take care of me. And she did. She treated me like I was her son too."

"Why are you telling me this?" Chelsie asked.

"To prove a point. My mother was all I had in life. And I thought that when she died, I would never have any family ever again. But I was wrong. You have people that want to be there for you. People who love you and are trying to be as understanding as possible. But you can't ask them to put their lives on hold or begrudge them their happiness. That's not what Chris would want."

Chelsie knew Adam was right. Chris wouldn't want that. Her head knew that but her heart wasn't ready to agree yet. She wanted her happy ending. She wanted her husband and a child. She wanted what her sister had. But she believed with Chris gone, her chance had come and gone.

"I really want to be alone." She said to him.

"Alright." Adam said getting up and walking to the door. "Chelsie, bad things happen. It's just how it is and you can't always control them. But no matter what bad might come, that is no reason to shut out the world."

Adam shut the door and headed downstairs. He hoped she took his words to heart. Chris would want her to be happy. He wouldn't want her to put her life on hold.

Wouldn't want her to put her life on hold. Those words rang in his head like a siren. Chris wouldn't want him to put his life on hold either. But that's what he was going to do if that's what it took to take care of Chelsie.  
>Jessica looked at him as he walked back into the kitchen. She could see the sadness he was trying to hide. He rushed out the back door and walked down by the lake adjacent to the house. When he was sure he was far enough away from the house and sufficiently covered by a thicket of trees, he sat down on the ground and let the tears fall. Heart wrenching sobs burned at the back of his throat and escaped his body in such a way that he was sure he was going to fall apart. Reliving the moment of his mother's death had made the stinging pain of Chris' death all too real in his mind and he finally let out the emotions he'd been keeping buried since his best friend, his brother died in his arms. <p>


	4. Chapter 4

Chelsie watched from the window as the tall, brooding blonde man that had been like Chris' brother rushed out the back door and walked down by the lake. She hadn't known him for very long and already it seemed that he understood her better than anyone else around her at the moment. Maybe it was because they were bonded by Chris death. But she felt oddly comfortable talking with him. Something she usually only reserved for Jessica.

Adam sat down by the lake and looked out. It really was peaceful there. He had often heard both Chris and John talk about how peaceful it was at the house. He sat there thinking about everything. He had made a promise to Chris and he was trying to keep it but bringing up his mom was hard. But talking about it with Chelsie was easier than he thought. There was a connection between them. He felt very comfortable talking to her. He sighed as he looked out at the lake. He was shocked when a golden retreiver came running up to him.

"Hey, puppy." He said petting the dog.

"Rosie." John said walking up. "Her name is Rosie."

"Hey, Rosie." Adam laughed. "Why Rosie?"

"Jess brought the dog home and named it after her mom. I really don't know why." John laughed. "So, you walked out of the house pretty quick. Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

John sighed as he sat down by Adam and Sammy laid down beside him. "It's peaceful right?"

"Yeah it is." He laughed before getting serious. "I talked to Chelsie."

"Yeah I figured." John laughed. "So, did you help?"

It's hard to say. She's dealing with a terrible situation but so are the rest of us. I told her Chris wouldn't want to see her like this. He wouldn't want her to begrudge anyone any happiness at all." John nodded.

"So how are you dealing with it all?" Adam looked up at John and sighed. It was a loaded question. "I know how close you and Chris were and I know this whole thing has been hard on you too."

"I'm dealing. I can't really focus on what I'm going through. I made him a promise to take care of her and that's what I have to do."

"Jess and I are going out with Randy and Olivia tonight. So you guys are on your own." Adam nodded.

John walked back to the house to get ready for the dinner with Olivia and Randy. He saw Chelsie in the kitchen.

"Hey Chels, how are you feeling?" He said walking in.

"I'm okay. I wanted to apologize for the way I acted."

John walked over and gave her a hug. "That's okay. We understand but you know we aren't being happy to hurt you or anything."

"I know and I'm happy for you and Jess and Randy and Olivia. I am but I just want my happiness too."

"I know you do and you will get it."John said. "Chels, Chris would want you to be happy again eventually. Right now I know it's too soon for you to even think about that. But as time goes on, you will slowly heal from this. I did after my parents and I know you and Jess did after yours."

"Yeah but losing parents is different. I had years with my parents. I didn't have that long with Chris. We didn't get to have the life we wanted."

"I know. But this isnt the end of things for you. You have your whole life to do what you want. And you will find someone who you love just as much as Chris. But that doesn't mean you will forget him. Live your life the way Chris would want."

"Thanks John." She smiled. "Now aren't you and Jess going out for dinner? I saw her getting ready."

"Yeah. You and Adam are on your own." John said before he walked upstairs to get dressed.

Half an hour later, John and Jess were gone and Adam and Chelsie were the only ones left in the house. Chelsie sat in her room thinking about the things that Adam and John had said to her . They were both right. Chris wouldn't want her to shut herself off to the possibility of love in the future. He also wouldn't want her to begrudge her friends their happiness. Even if she didn't have hers at the moment. She heard a large crash of pots and pans in the kitchen and came rushing down the stairs to find Adam covered in flour with a pan of what appeared to be chicken on the floor at his feet. She stayed hidden behind the wall a little and watched him as he tried to cook.

"Damnit!" He murmured under his breath. He turned his head when he heard a slight giggle. As soon as the sound left her lips, she closed her eyes and brought her hand to her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and she went to go back up the stairs but he caught her arm and pulled her into a hug. She sat there sobbing on his arms for a few minutes before she pulled away.

"I'm sorry." She said wiping her face. "It's just….."

"That's the first time you've laughed." She nodded. "It's okay for you to do that."

She sat there not sure about that. "Is it? Is it really okay for me to laugh?"

"Yes. Life does go on. Laughing because something is funny means you're alive. As time goes on, you will laugh when something is funny and it's okay to do that."

She sat there quietly. "How about I help you cook?"

"Sounds good." He laughed. He wasn't the best cook and her helping him meant dinner would be eidable.

She got up and wiped her tears away and started helping him fry the chicken and make the rest of the dinner. So it was done and they were sitting down at the table. They sat there quietly while they ate.

"Thanks for helping me. I'm not the best cook." He said quietly.

"I don't mind. Chris wasn't that good either. I always did the cooking." She said before realizing what she said. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. It's good to remember the good times or the funny times. You always will. We both loved him Chelsie. In different ways of course, but we still both loved him. We will always keep him alive in our hearts." She nodded. "This is delicious."

"Thanks. So can, I ask you some questions about Chris when he was younger?"

"What do you want to know?"

"What did you guys like to do?" She asked as they sat there eating.

"We did normal kids stuff. We loved to play sports. But one thing we love to do and that we did a lot was camping and hiking. We loved the outdoors." He smiled as he remembered how much they went. "There was this one time, we went camping at the lake and Chris thought it would be funny to scare me with a fake snake. But things didn't go as planned and we ended up getting skunked and spent the day in tomato juice to get rid of the smell."

She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the two of them getting skunked. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh but still."

He laughed as well. "It's fine. Chris and I got into all kinds of things when we were younger."

"I bet you did. I want to thank you for being here and I want to apologize to you. All this time, everyone has been so concerned about me. No one has even asked you how you're dealing with all this. I know you and Chris were close. He used to talk about you all the time. He always wanted us to meet. Guess this is not what he meant by that."

"Well, however we met, I'm glad we did. And to answer your question, I'm dealing with it I guess. It's a hard thing to lose your family." She nodded. "Why don't you go rest and I'll take care of the dishes?"

"You don't have to. I don't mind."

"How about we do them together?"

After the dishes were done, Chelsie headed into her bedroom while Adam headed to the guest room. She sat down on her bed and looked at the picture of her and Chris. Her sigh filled the room. She had enjoy spending time with Adam and hearing about him and Chris when they were younger.

"I miss you so much." She said to the photo. She kissed it and laid down on the bed and silently cried her asleep as she had been since she found out the news.

Adam sat in the guest room thinking about the night. It was nice to to talk about Chris and remember some of the good times. He sighed as he thought about Chelsie. She was hurting so much and he wasn't sure how he could make her feel better. He knew talking about Chris and trying to get her to see what she had still in her life was the best right now. She deserved to be happy again and Chris would want that. But Adam knew that was easier said than done.


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks later:

John stood looking out the window of the house and sighed. They were leaving today. Heading back to the war that was raging half a world away. He didn't want to leave Jessica and Chelsie. They needed him. But it wasn't Jessica and Chelsie that he was worried about when they left. It was Adam. Over the month that they had been there, he had seen the friendship starting to form between Chelsie and Adam. It was a way for each of them to keep Chris alive.

He smiled when he felt arms wrap around him from behind and he turned to face his wife. He smiled and leaned in and kissed her.

"I wish you didn't have go." She said softly.

"I wish that too but I have too." He hugged her. "I promise I will be back."

Jessica smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered as he held her. "You and our little one."

"You know we need to decide on names for our baby. I probably will have to give birth without you but I don't want to name our baby without you." She said moving to sit down. John followed and sat beside her.

"Okay what about Samuel?" He said placing his arm around her and pulling her to him. She rested her head on his chest as he held her.

"I like it but what about Daniel?"

"Daniel is okay but I like Samuel."

"What about Garrick? After your dad."

"Garrick John Cena? I like it."

"Okay, we have our little boy name. Now, the little girl."

"I was thinking Elisabeth after my mom."

"I like it. Elisabeth Miranda Cena and we can call her Bess."

"I like it." He smiled at her.

"Great. Now we have names." She smiled back. They turned to look at the kitchen door when they heard footsteps and smiled to see Olivia and Randy come strolling in hand and hand. It had been agreed upon that Olivia would come and stay with Jessica and Chelsie until the boys came back from the war. Six long months away. "How are you feeling today?"

Olivia smiled. "Like crap but I will manage." Randy wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest. She smiled and leaned back into him. "Thanks for letting me stay here. I don't think I could go through all of this alone."

"It's no problem. We are happy to have you here." Jessica said as she crossed the room and hugged her friend.

Chelsie sat up in her room looking at the picture of Chris. They were leaving today. Heading back to war and her only link to Chris was going with them. There was a soft knock on her door and she turned to look at it for a minute and then turned back to look out the window. She didn't want to see any of them. She would have to deal with the two emotional and pregnant women when they left and she didn't want to compound her already worn emotions with some long, drawn out goodbye. She murmured a silent prayer for all of them as the door opened and she saw a flash of Adam's blonde hair reflected in the mirror.

"Don't you know how to knock?" she said.

"I did. You didn't answer." He said as he walked across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. "You going to come down and say goodbye to everyone?" he asked. She shook her head. "How come?"

"I'm not in to long goodbyes."

"Cut the bullshit Chels. You don't want to say goodbye because you're scared." She turned to look at him and smiled a little. The only other man who had been able to see right through her was Chris and even he never called her on it.

" So what if I am? Given the circumstances, I think I have a right to be." He nodded.

"Tell you what. I will make you a deal. You keep everything safe on the home front and I will keep John and Randy safe in the field and we'll meet back up right here in six months." Chelsie looked at him.

"How can you be so sure you'll all come back?"

"I promise you we will come back. And as you may well have figured out from this last month, I always keep my promises." She nodded. "Go on down and say goodbye to Randy and John. I will be down in a minute." She walked out of the room and down the stairs. He waited until he was sure she was gone and then he took the envelope out of his pocket and placed it on her bedside table where she was sure to see it. He walked out of her room and closed the door behind him and joined the others in the living room.

Chelsie hugged John and Randy goodbye and told them to take care of each other. She then watched them walk over to their wives. She looked at Adam and walked over to him.

"Thank you for everything. You helped me by talking about your memories of Chris."

"You're welcome." He replied.

"Take care of yourself and the others over there."

"I will."

"Adam, are you ready to go?" Randy asked.

"Yeah. Goodbye, Chelsie, I'm glad I got to know you." Adam said to her.

"Me too." Chelsie replied to him.

"Take care of yourself." He hugged her and walked out to the porch. He watched as John and Randy hugged and kissed their wives. They all got into the car and headed to the train station. They would be flown over once they got to the base.

Chelsie walked back into her room after they other girls had gone to bed and found the not that Adam had written her. She smiled a little. Chris had always done the same thing. She sat back down on her bed and opened the envelope.

_Dear Chels,_

_It was nice to get to know you over the course of the last few weeks. I wish it could have been under better circumstances. Take care of Jess and Olivia. They love you and they are both going to need you. Please take care of yourself too. I made a promise to Chris that I would always be there for you. Feel free to write me as often as you want. I'll write you when I get the chance. And when I come back in six months, you have to promise to teach me to cook. Lord knows my Mom tried. In this whole horrible process, I'm glad that I made a new friend. I look forward to your letters. _

_ Adam._

Chelsie smiled to herself and put the letter back in the envelope. She really liked Adam. In a strange way, it was helping her deal with Chris' loss. She fell asleep that night intent on writing him a letter the next day. She would write him one for every day that he was gone. What else did she have to do?


	6. Chapter 6

Back at the base camp, Adam sat on his bunk and looked up at the ceiling. The last month had been hell on earth. His best friend was dead and he didn't know how he was going to pick up the pieces and continue on with life as usual. There wasn't anyone left for him. His promise to Chris flashed through his mind and he reminded himself that he was wrong. He had Chelsie. He picked up the pen and paper and began to write.

_Dear Chels-_

_Hope all is well back home with you and the girls. I know Randy and John are on edge about us being so far away. Things are pretty quiet here for now. It's getting colder here. We might have to move our location in a day or two. But don't worry, I still promise to write. Say a prayer for us as we all say prayers for you guys. I'm sure that Jessica and Olivia are getting their own letters from John and Randy but make sure that they are okay. Make sure that they know just how much those two knuckleheads love them. I know it's hard to look at them and not be envious of the life that you and Chris could have had. But we're all counting on you to help them through. There is a life out there for you Chels. You will have the life that you and Chris always dreamed of. Don't ever lose hope in that. It's getting pretty late and we have to be on guard in the morning. Take care of yourself and Of Jessica and Olivia. I will write again soon. _

_-Adam._

Chelsie sat on the bench by the lake and read Adam's letter. She hadn't been completely sure about this arrangement at first but it did give her some comfort. In a way, it was her connection to Chris. She still hadn't brought herself to clean out his closet yet. All of his clothes still hung in neat rows smelling faintly of his aftershave. It was still too soon she told herself. She would get to it. But the ugly truth of the matter was that opening that closet scared her. If she opened it and began to pack away Chris' things, it would be the final acknowledgement that he wasn't coming back. She folded the letter and put it in her apron pocket. She'd sit down after supper and write him a letter. Just like she had done every day for the last three weeks they'd been gone.

She heard Olivia calling from the house and she stood and walked in the direction of her voice. She smiled when she saw her friend come into sight more clearly, her barely visible baby bump growing a little more every day.

"Jess needs you." Olivia said. Chelsie nodded and headed into the house to find her sister sitting in the kitchen, an emotional wreck.

"Jess, honey what's the matter?"

"Today is my birthday. I'm fat and my husband isn't home and no one remembered." She sobbed.

"First of all, you are not fat. You're pregnant. You have my precious little niece or nephew in there. Secondly, John, Randy and Adam would be here if they could be. They will be back before we know it. Thirdly, I didn't forget your birthday. What kind of sister would I be? I have a cake made for after supper and I'm making your favorite. Fried chicken and fried green tomatoes. I've had your present for weeks. Olivia and I went out shopping last week and she even got you a gift. We love you Jess. We do. Why don't you and my niece or nephew go take a nap? By the time you wake up, supper will be ready and we can open your presents." Jessica nodded and hugged Chelsie.

"Thank you. I love you sis."

"I love you too. Now go rest." Jessica headed upstairs and Olivia waited until she was out of earshot.

"Man, is that what I'm going to be like?" Chelsie laughed and shook her head.

"No, Jess wants John to be near to tell her that she is the most beautiful woman in the world. To kind of settle her insecurities. You are going to be cursing the day Randy was ever born, the day you met him and the day you made that baby. Same thing you did the whole time you had morning sickness." Olivia laughed at her.

"You're probably right. I just wanted to thank you again. I really don't know how we could get through this without you." Chelsie smiled at her and nodded. "Well, I think I might go take a nap too. I'll see you later." Chelsie sat down at the table and pulled out her stationery.

**Dear Adam-**

**Hope all is well with you guys over there. I do say a prayer for you every day. I pray that you guys come back safely. The leaves are beginning to change colors. It's beautiful to watch the sunrise as it hits the leaves. It looks like the whole world is on fire. Today was Jess' birthday. She got a little over emotional about John not being here. Tell him she's fine. I made a cake and we plan on having a little party for her after supper with gifts. Olivia asked me if she would be like that. I told her no. Told her that she would probably hate Randy's guts by the time the baby gets here. Still haven't brought myself to clean out Chris' closet yet but I did find a photo album and a diary from when he was a child. The diary and your letters give me comfort and make me feel closer to you both. I'll write again tomorrow. Supper needs to be started and you probably have better things to do than sit and read my letters. Be safe over there and please make it back in one piece. **

**-Chelsie.**

John sat in the camp writing a letter to Jessica. He knew today was hers birthday. He wished he could be there for her but he couldn't. He was serving his country and he was proud to do so. He, Chris and Randy had joined up to help defeat the Japanese and their allies including the Germans. Many of their fellow soldiers had been imprisoned in work camps. They had been told that they were possibly moving to help liberate the camp. John wrote Jessica about everything that was happening and wished her a happy birthday. He knew she wouldn't get the letter until after her birthday but he wanted her to know he was thinking about her. He told her how much he missed her and their baby. He hoped to be home for the birth but there was no guarantee on that. He looked over at Randy who was writing a letter of his own and Adam who was writing one also. He wondered when they would get to go home and what would be waiting when they got there. When they were home, they noticed the rationing of things. John hoped and prayed that the girls were fine and that they were dealing with the rationing okay. He knew how hard this had been on all of them.

Chelsie sat on her bed and looked at the closet doors that sat across from her. Somehow, they had formed a sort of mausoleum for Chris' things. She knew she had to do it. She had to go in there and pack up all of his clothes. Most of his personal things, she'd save for Adam. But if she was ever going to start letting go, it would all start with that closet. She grabbed the boxes she'd somehow managed to scrounge up and opened the doors to the closest. The scent of Chris' aftershave caught in the air and she almost changed her mind.

"Chris, I know you can hear me. This is the first time that we've talked in a few weeks now. I know you didn't want to leave me. I know you would have come back to me if you could have. But you can't come back. You're gone. And the sooner I realize and accept that, the better off I will be. I do love you Chris. I will always love you. But having your things here is like rubbing salt in an open wound. I hope you understand. And I hope that you won't be mad at me. But I have to do this for me." She said as she wiped the tears that had begun to stream down her face away. "I have to say goodbye to you this one final time for my own sanity. Goodbye for now my love. Until we meet again." She closed her eyes for a few minutes and let the tear drops continue to fall before she opened her eyes and smiled. She felt that Chris understood why she was doing what she was doing and why she had to do it. She pulled the first of many suits off the hanger and folded them neatly in the box.

Olivia and Jessica had been standing at the door listening to Chelsie as she said her goodbye and tears filled their eyes. A mixture of emotions ran through them. Both of them were sad that Chris was gone, but a little grateful that their husbands had been spared. Proud of Chelsie for being strong enough to begin to move on and hopeful that their husbands would return to them soon. Each of them looked at the other and sent up a silent prayer that that is indeed what would happen. And each of them prayer for Chelsie to find a man who would love her the way she needed to be loved. When the time was right.


	7. Chapter 7

Adam laid on his bunk with his head resting on his left arm as he read Chelsie's letter. They'd been writing to each other for three months now and somehow, he looked forward to each letter a little more. He was keeping his promise to Chris and being there for her. But the letters were more than that. They were much more than just keeping a connection to Chris. It was a chance to get to know Chelsie. A chance for him to make a connection with someone on his own.

Dear Adam,

I hope this letter finds you all doing well. We still say a prayer for you guys every day. Olivia and Jessica are both progressing along in their pregnancies. In fact, Jess is only a month from her due date the doctor says. Jess is scared to death to give birth without John being here. I keep telling her she's going to be fine. We got the crib out of the garage today and I gave it a fresh coat of paint. It looks almost brand new. It stopped snowing today and the sun came out. Somehow I knew it was a message from Chris telling me everything was going to be okay and I could move on. I don't know how to explain it but I just know. I don't remember if I told you but I packed up his things. I saved a few things for you that I know he would have wanted you to have. Tell Randy and John that both of their wives and babies are fine. Promise me that you'll all come back to us. I have to keep the faith that you will. Faith and your friendship is what has gotten me through so far. You don't know how much you mean to me. I guess I better let you go. I'm sure you have more important things to worry about than reading some dumb old letters. Stay safe and we will see you guys soon.

-Chelsie.

Adam folded the letter up and sighed as he put his other arm to rest behind his head. John looked over at his friend's bunk and smiled to himself. He thought it was great that Adam and Chelsie were writing letters. It gave them both something to take their mind off Chris and everything. John turned his attention to the photo he carried everywhere. It was of him and Jessica taken before he left. She was glowing as they had just found out they were expecting. He sighed because he knew she was close to giving birth. He hoped and prayed that she and the baby would be fine. He wished he could be there for the birth of his child but he knew it was likely he wouldn't be.

Jessica sat in the living room reading her favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo. The baby had been kicking all day and was finally settled down. She was only a few weeks from her due date. She was nervous about having the baby. She knew everything that could go wrong. Women died in childbirth every day.

"You shouldn't think about the things that could go wrong." Chelsie said walking in. "Nothing is going to happen with you or the baby. You will have a healthy baby and when John comes home, he will be able to see and hold that perfect baby."

"But things happen Chels."

"I know that but not to you. You are going to be fine. You and my niece or nephew. Don't worry. Just relax." Jessica sighed. "I know you miss John and want him here with you, but things will be okay. Alright."

"Okay." Jessica smiled slightly. Chelsie knew that Jessica still was worried. She looked at her sister as she sat in the chair by the fireplace and pulled the envelope out of her apron. She took note of the smile that spread across her sister's face and knew instantly that it was a letter from Adam. She shook her head. She was glad that her sister was smiling again. She was sure that she never would again after Chris' death but somehow it wasn't right. She knew the look her sister got whenever she would get a letter from Adam and she wondered if Chelsie was falling for him. It wasn't right. Nice girls like Chelsie didn't move on so quickly when their husbands had barely been gone. She slowly saw her sister starting to change and she wasn't sure she liked it. She closed the book and pulled herself up off the couch. "I'm a little tired. I'm going to bed." Chelsie simply nodded at her and said a silent goodnight.

Chelsie opened the envelope and lost herself in the letter. She looked forward to them more and more. She couldn't explain the comfortableness that she felt around Adam. But there was a bond between them.

Dear Chels-

Glad to hear that everything is going okay. Your letters aren't dumb. I look forward to them. They keep my sane around here. Jessica isn't the only one who is nervous about the baby's birth. John is a wreck. He desperately wants to be there. I've told him a million times that it can't be helped and the next time they have a child, he will be there every step of the way. Thanks for saving me some of Chris' things. I really appreciate it. I can understand how you would know it was s sign from Chris when the snow stopped. He always loved the snow. You have come to mean a lot to me too. Although our friendship didn't start under the most ideal circumstances, I am glad that we're friends. I always thought that being alone was the right thing. I didn't want to get too attached to anyone. But seeing what you and Chris had and what John and Jessica and Randy and Olivia share, it has made me rethink that. Maybe there is someone out there for everyone. Even me. Well, I better let you go. Continue to take care of yourself and the girls and we will be home soon.

-Adam.

Chelsie smiled and folded the letter back up and put it in her pocket. She hadn't even heard Olivia come into the room and when Olivia spoke, it made her jump a little. Olivia walked into the room and stood there watching Chelsie read the latest letter from Adam. She smiled, excited for what she could see happening to her friend. Chelsie was falling in love and she didn't even realize it. She wrote to him faithfully every single day and she looked genuinely happy and relieved when she received a letter of reply. She was happy for them. If Adam felt the same way. She couldn't help the thought that she spoke out loud. And when Chelsie jumped and she saw the look on her face, she knew it was true.

"You love him." she said. Chelsie looked at him for a moment and then shook her head.

"What are you talking about?"

"You love Adam." Olivia said.

"I do not. My husband has been gone less than a year." Chelsie said.

"The heart wants what it wants. You can't help it and you can't control it Chels. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"You're crazy." Chelsie said as she got up and walked to her bedroom. She closed the door and sat down on the bed with Olivia's words still running her mind. And she had to ask herself if there was some truth to it. Was she falling for Adam?


	8. Chapter 8

Chelsie sat at Jessica's bedside dabbing her forehead with a damp cloth. Jess had been at this for nearly 5 hours but the doctor was assuring her that one more push and her son would be here. And sure enough, Jess pushed one more time and the baby made his way into the world. Chelsie hugged her sister and smiled at the little blue bundle in her sister's arms.

Dear Adam,

I have a nephew. 7lbs, 12 oz. Jess and the baby are both doing fine. I had to share this news with you. I know John will be a little disappointed that he wasn't here but the baby is beautiful and looks so much like him. I had a dream that you guys got here before the baby was born. Jess was in labor and you guys came busting through the doors just before he got here. Seeing her with the baby makes me realize that I want that someday. Wishful thinking I guess. Anyways, you guys will get to see the baby when you get home. I hope that's soon. We really miss you all. As always, we are praying for your safe return. I'll let you go now.

Chelsie.

Adam smiled and folded the letter up placing it next to the orders he had just been given. They were going home. His smile grew at the thought. He was going to get to see Chelsie again. He looked up as John came through the doors, a smile plastered on his one face.

"You ready to go?" John asked. Adam nodded. "Let's get home to see my son."

"And our girls." Randy interjected. Adam grabbed his stuff and thought about Randy's statement. Chelsie wasn't his girl. She'd been married to his best friend. But that hadn't stopped the feeling that had begun to bloom inside his chest. Feelings that only seemed to intensify when he'd receive a letter or someone would mention her name. Somehow, in keeping his promise to Chris, he'd fallen for her. And there was a certain amount of guilt that came along with that. But he couldn't deny it anymore. He was in love with Chelsie.

Chelsie and Olivia watched as Jessica held the baby. He was so cute and looked so much like John. They walked into the room and sat down on the bed by her. The doctor had told her to rest.

"So, how he is?" Olivia asked.

"He's great."

"So, what's his name?" Chelsie asked excitedly. Jess had yet to tell anyone the baby's name.

"This is John Daniel Cena." She smiled.

"It's perfect." Chelsie smiled. "I'm sure John will think so too."

"I hope so. I can't wait for him to come home and see him even if it is months from now." She turned back to her son.

"Don't worry, they will be home before we know it." Olivia smiled.

"I hope so." Jess smiled and turned her attention back to her son.

"Jess, they will come back and be fine." Chelsie said sitting down beside her sister. She lovely stroked her nephew's head. "Don't worry."

"I worry about you too." Jessica said looking at her sister.

"You shouldn't. I'm fine. I will always grieve for Chris but I'm getting better."

"That's what I mean."

"I'm going to let you guys talk." Olivia said quietly making her way out. She sensed this was a sister conversation.

"What are you talking about Jess?"

"I see you when you get a letter from Adam. You smile so big. You're falling for him."

"I'm not. He is a friend, Jess." She said. "And even if I was, isn't that what you all want? Me to move on and not live in the past with Chris."

"Yes but he hasn't been gone that long. You have to let yourself have the appropriate mourning time before you move on and it hasn't been that long. Proper mourning is a year and six months."

"And who decided that?"

"Self respecting women who loved their husbands." Jess replied. "It just wouldn't be right for you to move on so quickly."

"So I have to live in misery for the next year or I'm not a self respecting woman and I didn't love my husband?"

"That's not what I'm saying." Chelsie was about to say something but the door to the room swung open and John was standing there looking at them. Jessica blinked a few times, her eyes trying to digest the fact that John was home. "Oh my god, you're home."

He smiled and walked in and over to where she was. He kissed her and sat down beside her. "Yes, I'm home. Hey, Chelsie."

"Hey John. " Chelsie knew it was not the time to finish their conversation since John was home. "I will leave you guys."

"What was that?" John asked turning to his wife and son.

"It's nothing. Beside you have someone to meet." She smiled. "This is your son, John Daniel Cena."

He smiled as he took the baby from her and lovingly cradled him. "He's perfect."

"Yes, he is." She smiled lovingly at both of them. "What do you think of the name?"

"I love it. It's perfect." He kissed her gently. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"That's okay, I understand. You'r e here now."

"So, what's going on with you and Chels?" He asked as he placed the sleeping baby in the cradle nearby. He turned and sat down beside her on the bed.

"We were talking about her and Adam and the letter writing."

"What about it?"

"I told her that I knew she was falling for him and that it was too soon for that." She said quietly as too not wake the baby.

"Why would you think it was too soon? That's what everyone wanted. For her to move on."

"Yes, I want her to move on and not be in the past with Chris but John there are mourning rules. You have to be in mourning for a year and six months."

"Jess, that's so old fashion." John replied.

"It's traditional."

"Jessica Cena, you wanted her to move on and not live in the past, let her do that." He said loudly causing Daniel to wake up.

"Thanks, John." She said with a sighed.

"Sorry." He walked over and picked up the baby from the cradle. He rocked him a little bit and he went back to sleep. He walked back over to Jessica. "Baby, Chelsie deserves to move on and find a good guy. Adam is that guy. I know the tradition is for her to mourn for however long but you can't help when you fall in love and who you fall for. She deserves to be happy."

Chelsie walked down the hallway past Olivia's room and smiled as she saw her cuddled up with Randy. His hand was placed lovingly on her growing belly and the baby was kicking up a storm. God, how she wanted that. And in the time she and Adam had been exchanging letters, she'd felt a little glimmer of hope that she'd get there. She hadn't wanted to admit it to herself. Or anyone else for that matter but she'd fallen for Adam. And as much as she loved those feelings, a part of her still felt like she'd be cheating on Chris. She looked over her shoulder when she heard footsteps coming toward her. She turned to face Adam and smiled. He looked good and she was so thankful that he'd come home to her safe and sound. She walked across the hallway in three steps and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes a little. He'd never known how good it could feel to hold the woman you love in your arms. Not until that moment there in the hallway.

"I'm so glad you're home." she whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

Adam pulled back to look at her and smiled a little. She was glad to see him. She was happy he was home. Hearing those words made the moment even sweeter.

"I told you I always keep my promises." he said as they walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Seems like you kept up your end of the deal too." he said as he sat down at the table. "Jess and Olivia seem to be doing great and I can't wait to see this nephew you were so excited about." Chelsie smiled and handed him a cup of coffee as she sat across the table from him.

"I tried. Believe it hasn't been easy dealing with two pregnant women but I've managed." Adam laughed a little. "So how long are you guys here for?" Just as the words left her mouth, Olivia came bounding down the stairs as fast as she could with Randy close behind her.

"Chels...did you hear? They're home for good."

"So you're home for good." Jessica said as she and John started downstairs.

"Yes. So I can be with you and our son." He smiled.

"I'm so glad. Now you won't miss any of Daniel's life."

"I don't plan on it." They got downstairs and saw Olivia, Randy, Adam and Chelsie. John leaned over to whisper to his wife. "She deserves the chance to be happy."

Jessica nodded and walked over. "Adam, it's great that you're here. I know Chelsie is glad." She smiled.

"Thank you." He replied to her.

"Well since the guys are home now, I'm moving back to my house." Olivia said with a smile. "Jess, Chels, I have loved living with you guys but I want to be back home before the baby."

"We understand." Jessica smiled. She then turned to Adam. "So, Adam are you staying with us?"

"I have a few loose ends to tie up with my Mom's old place but I would like to move closer." Adam said never taking his eyes off Chelsie. "Maybe Chelsie wouldn't mind coming with me and helping me pack up a few things before I sell the house."

Chelsie looked at Jess who simply shrugged at her and then turned her attention back to Adam smiling. She nodded slightly.

"I'd love to help. God knows you wouldn't survive two days if you were cooking for yourself." she said causing Adam to laugh. John sat back smiling. He hadn't seen Chelsie like this since she met Chris. But there was something different about the way she interacted with Adam. It was so much like the way he and Jess behaved, it was scary. He looked up at Randy who had takn note of the way his two friends interacted and smiled to himself too. Olivia had written in her letters her suspicions of Chelsie's love for Adam but he'd never have guessed it was this true.

"Great. How about we go out tonight and let the new parents have some time alone with this beautiful baby of theirs? So we can talk about the plans for leaving this weekend?" Chelsie nodded her head in agreement. Jess rested against John's chest studying the way Adam was staring at her sister. She could see it too. The way he was looking at her, the way he smiled whenever she'd talk. He was as much in love with her as she was with him and that put her heart at ease a little bit. That's all she'd ever really wanted for Chelsie. A love that would last a lifetime. A love like the one she'd found in John.

Everyone soon headed out leaving John and Jessica alone with Daniel. They sat in the living room just resting while Daniel was asleep in the nearby cradle. Jessica had her head on John's chest as they sat there.

"You seem deep in thought." He said. "Anything you want to talk about."

"Just that I think you're right." She said with a smile.

"Right about what?"

"About Chelsie and Adam. She needs to move on and Adam seems great. All I want is her to be happy. So, I'm not going to say its wrong anymore. If she wants that, then I'm happy."

He smiled when she said it. "You are a great girl and I'm so lucky that you agreed to be my wife."

"Aww, thanks." She leaned up and kissed him. "I'm the lucky one. You came back to me and that's the best thing in the world. I love you and our son."

"It was bad over there. I'm not going to lie to you but I always believed I would come back. I couldn't leave you or our son."

She smiled and kissed him again. She once again rested her head on his chest. She was happy with her life. Now she hoped Chelsie would find the same thing again.

Adam looked at Chelsie across the booth of the diner and smiled. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a royal blue dress and her hair was pulled up slightly away from her face.

"So where is your Mom's place?" she asked causing him to break away from his thoughts.

"In Springfield. It's about thirty miles from here." She noded. " We could leave Friday night and be back by Sunday."

"Sounds good. It'll be nice to get a way for a little while." She said as she glanced past him to a table of women who were obviously whispering about her. It seemed Jessica wasn't the only one with the opinion that she was moving on too soon. She looked back down at her menu as Kelly Gabriel and Eve Barrett walked over to the table.

"Hi Chelsie." Kelly said.

"Kelly."

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Eve asked.

"This is Adam Copeland. He was Chris' best friend. Adam, this is Kelly Gabriel and Eve Barrett."

"A pleasure to meet you." Kelly said to Adam before she turned her attention back to Chelsie. "So how long has Chris been gone now? Five months isn't it?"

"It'll be six months next week actually." Chelsie said.

"And you're already moving on? See Eve, I told you those girls were fast." Kelly said. Chelsie sat there for a minute without saying anything. "Or were you sleeping with both of them before Chris died?"

"You can say whatever you want Kelly. It won't change the fact that Chris picked me over you. And I'm sure that your friend over here would like to know that when her husband was on leave last year, he stayed at your house while she was away in Denver visiting her folks." She said as she looked at Adam.

"Suddenly, I'm not so hungry anymore. Do you wanna go for a walk?" Adam smiled and threw a few dollars down on the table and they got up leaving the diner. Once they were outside, Adam looked over at Chelsie and laughed.

"You handled yourself pretty well back there."

"Kelly has always been a pain in the butt." Cheslie said laughing. "Now maybe Eve will realize exactly what Kelly is all about."

After leaving the diner, Kelly and Eve both headed over to the Cena home. They wanted to tell Jessica what they saw. Surely she didn't approve of her sister moving on so soon and secretly Eve wanted to know if what Chelsie said was true. They knocked on the door and waited someone to answer it.

"This had better be important." John said opening it. He sighed when he saw Eve and Kelly. "What do you two want?"

"We would like to speak with Jessica." Eve said to him.

"She is resting right now. Can it wait?"

"No, it's about Chelsie." Kelly said to him.

"It's fine John." Jessica said walking up. "I will talk to them."

"Alright. I'm going to check on Daniel. Dealing with harpies like them isn't something I wish to do." He kissed her and headed upstairs not looking at Eve and Kelly's reaction to his words.

"What did you need ladies?" Jessica asked.

"Did you know your sister was out with someone without a chaprone only six months after her husband died? Surely you don't approve."

"What does it matter if she is out with someone? They are friends. And friends can go out."

"It isn't proper, Jessica and you know that." Kelly replied.

Jessica sighed. "Kelly, Chris is dead and he isn't coming back. Chelsie can't mourn forever. That's not what he would want. And you shouldn't begrudge her some happiness."

"I can't believe this. We are southern women. We are to mourn our husbands for the correct period of time."

"Kelly, what Chelsie does really isn't any of your business. You should be worried about the fact that your husband has been sleeping with the teacher in town for months now while you were sleeping with Eve's husband. Now, you both should leave." Jessica walked to the door and showed them out.

Once they had left, she headed upstairs to her husband. She had just walked up when she was grabbed from behind.

"I never knew you could be vicious." He whispered to her. "It really turns me on."

"I'm not vicious. I'm sweet but they need to mind their own business."

"Yes they do." He kissed her and led her to their bedroom. It had been more than six weeks since Daniel's birth. They made love with more passion than before. It had been so long since they were together.

Adam and Chelsie made their way to the house and walked into the kitchen. She walked to the fridge and saw that there was some left over ham she'd made a few days before.  
>"There's some left over ham. We could have sandwiches." Adam nodded. They heard Jessica moan and Chelsie shook her head."Wow, I guess they're working on the second baby already." Adam laughed.<br>"It's a nice night. You wanna eat outside?" Chelsie smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll go grab a blanket and we can go down by the lake if you want."  
>"Sure. There's a blanket in the hall closet." Chelsie said as she gathered up the ham and the bread she'd made earlier that day. Adam came back a few minutes later and they walked out the backdoor and went down by the lake. <p>


	10. Chapter 10

Adam grabbed the blanket and walked with Chelsie as she carried their sandwiches out to sit by the lake.

"So, what was it like growing up with Jess?" Adam said as he bit into his sandwich.

"Probably much like it was growing up with Chris. She's always been there to look out for me. She's always been there to keep me out of trouble. She took me in after our parents died." Chelsie said.

"How did she and John meet?"

"In town at a ice cream social when they were sixteen. We had just moved to town. John grew up here. He saw Jessica and they talked and danced. Then he asked my father's permission to court her. They had some dates that were chaproned. Soon they were in love and he asked my father's permission to marry her. Then he asked Jess and they were married in a ceremony in church."

"Sounds romantic." He laughed.

"It was. It made me want that. After they were married, she moved to John's house. It was weird to not have my sister there. Then my parents died and I came to live with Jess and John. It all seems so long ago."

"Tell me about those women in town? That Kelly use to date Chris?"

"She sure wanted to. She was all over him all the time. Baking him stuff, trying to be all flirty. But she has a bit of a reputation and I guess Chris saw through it. I guess in her mind she thougt they were. He told me he was never with her."

Jessica woke up and checked on Daniel. He was sleeping peacefully. After checking on her son, she headed to check on Chelsie. She opened the door and saw she wasn't there. She guessed that she and Adam hadn't gotten back yet. She smiled inspite of things. Hearing Eve and Kelly disapprove just made her realize that Chelsie deserved to be happy and if that was with Adam, then great. She headed downstairs to get some water. After getting a drink, she was heading back upstairs when she saw a letter at the front door. She bent down to pick it up. It was addressed to Chelsie. Jessica struggled with thoughts of opening it but it wasn't for her. She placed on the table near the door and headed back to bed.

Adam and Chelsie were laughing at a story that Chelsie had told from when she was growing up.  
>"I wish you could have seen the look on my mom's face when she saw us all covered in honey and flour. But we were trying to make her birthday special. She never got mad at us. I think we had to wash our hair about four times in order to get all the honey out." Chelsie said as she finished her sandwich laughing. Adam smiled at her. "So what about you? What's your fondest memory from childhood?"<p>

"Chris and I were ten or so. We'd somehow managed to rake leaves and do yard work to save up money to get his mom a present. My mom was already gone by then. We couldn't decide on what to get her. So we decided we'd each get her something that cost a little less than we'd figured. We each got our presents and wrapped them. Christmas day we gathered round the tree, all excited and each of us handed her our present. She opened them both and it was the eact same apron only in different colors. We were both horrified. She simply smiled and said she loved them both. She wore one for spring and summer and one for fall and winter." Adam smiled. "It was the first time since my mom passed that I felt a part of a family again." Chelsie put her hand on his arm and he looked over at her. God, she was beautiful.

Jessica sighed when she got back into bed. John was awake and heard her.

"What's going on? Is Daniel okay?"

"Yeah, he is fine." She said with a smile. "There wa a letter under the front door."

"What kind of letter?" He asked sitting up in the bed.

"I don't know. It was addressed to Chelsie so I left it on the table by the door."

"I wonder what it could be."

"Do you think it's something with the army?"

"No, it would have the army on it and they would have rang the bell and waited for someone to answer."

"I guess Chelsie will let us know what it said."

"Yeah." He kissed her and pulled her close. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Yeah." She said softly before kissing him. She got comfortable with her husband and was soon asleep.

Adam looked down at her hand on his arm and then smiled back up at her. The wind blew softly and some of her hair brushed her cheek. He reached over and gently tucked it behind her ear, the urge to kiss her growing stronger by the second. But he couldn't. He hadn't even talked to Chris. He just couldn't.

Chelsie sat there, her hand on Adam's arm, his fingers gently running through her hair, their faces so close together. So close that their lips could almost touch. And the part that scared her the most was how badly she wanted them to.

"It's getting pretty late. Maybe we should head on to bed." he whispered. Chelsie nodded and rose from the blanket a mixture of disappointment and relief flooding through her. They walked into the house and she took the blanket and put it back in the hall closet. She saw the letter and opened it curious as to what it said.

Chelsie, how dare you move on so fast? Have you no respect for your husband or your reputation? You are suppose to wait for over a year before you are seen in public with any man not related to you. We always knew you were a harlet but we thought you had more respect for your husband. And what about your family? Do you think your actions won't affect them? Do you think anyone in town will be friendly with them or you? Think about your actions. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Chelsie couldn't believe the letter. She look on the envelope and the only thing on it was her name. She wondered how it got there and if Jess or John had gotten it when it was delivered. She sighed and headed up. She knew Jess and John were sleeping. She would asked them about things in the morning.

Adam sat in his room and sighed to himself. He'd wanted to kiss her. God how he'd wanted to kiss her. But he couldn't. As much as everything in him was dying to do it, he'd felt a sudden surge of guilt hit him. She'd been married to his best friend, his brother. And he couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt like he'd be stabbing Chris in the back. He sighed to himself. His emotions were so conflicted. How could he follow his heart without dishonoring Chris' memory? And how long could he keep his feelings for Chelsie a secret without acting on them? When he'd given his heart to Amy before, there was never any conflict even though he'd ended up taking her from another friend. And how that had ended only added to his doubt. He closed his eyes and the two of them by the lake flashed through his mind. But this time it had a much different ending. This time, he'd kissed her softly. Pulling her close enough to smell the gardenia perfume that she wore. He'd wrapped her in his arms intent on never letting her go. That was how he fell asleep that night. With the fantasies of what could be with Chelsie flooding his mind. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chelsie packed a few things in her bag and looked over at the letter on the nightstand. She hadn't had a chance to ask Jess about it yet. She didn't even know why it bothered her so much. She hadn't done anything wrong. But somehow, what those girls thought of her and the threat it posed to her family made her cringe. She'd ask Jess about it when she got back. She needed to focus on helping Adam and try and squelch the nervousness building in her stomach about being alone with him. After their near kiss at the lake two days before, he'd been on her mind more than usual and so had Chris.

Jessica finished making breakfast just as Adam and John walked in.

"I hope you guys are hungry." She said to them as Chelsie walked in. "I made French toast with apples and whipped cream as well as bacon."

"Looks really good baby." John said as they all sat down.

"When are you guys leaving?" Jess asked Chelsie and Adam.

"After breakfast, there is a lot to do." Adam replied.

"Alright. Did you want me to make you some sandwiches for the road?"

"That's okay."

"Alright."

Chelsie debated about telling Jess about the letter but she worried that Jess would agree with the women in town. Breakfast was soon over and John and Adam headed to look after the animals.

"So, you never said what was in that letter." Jess said as they cleared the table.

"It was nothing really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go see when Adam wants to leave."

"Okay." Jess wondered what was really in that letter.

Chelsie walked outside and saw John walking back to the house.

"Everything okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah. I'm great." she said. But john knew better.

"Stop feeling guilty. You haven't done anything wrong. And Adam's a really decent guy." he said.

"How did you..."

"You can see it in your eyes when you look at him. Or when anyone mentions him. Or when you're near him. Chris wouldn't want you miserable and alone. Just take things slow. Adam's had a bad run at love before okay?"

"I don't even know if he feels the same way. And I can't just ask him. I don't know what to do."

"The best advice I can give you is to follow your heart." She smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks John."

Chelsie headed into the house to talk to Jess and make sure she had everything she needed.

"Jess?" She said walking into the nursery where Jess was with Daniel.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to tell you that Adam and I are getting ready to leave."

"Okay, have a good time." Jessica said with a smile.

"You don't disapprove?"

"No, I don't." Jessica sighed. "Chels, I'm sorry that I overreacted. Chris would want you to be happy. You can't stay in mourning forever. You do what is best for you. Adam is a nice guy and I'm sure Chris would approve."

Chelsie smiled. She never thought her sister would be okay with things. Jessica was traditional and southern. She always reminded her of Melanie in Gone in the wind.

"Thanks Jess." Chelsie replied.

"Are you okay?"

Chelsie nodded. "I...I'm just a little nervous about going away with him. I mean...I don't know what I mean. God, I don't know what to do." Jess smiled.

"Follow your heart." It was the second time she'd been given that advice in a ten minute span. She smiled.

"Thanks Jess." Chelsie hugged Jessica and kissed Daniel on the forehead. She headed downstairs to put her things in the car.

Adam checked the car and stood beside it waiting for Chelsie to bring her stuff. He smiled at John as he walked up.

"Have a safe trip." John said hugging them both.

Chelsie got into the car and they drove away. John sighed and walked back in the house. He heard Jessica upstairs. He headed up and found her in the nursery with Daniel.

"Chelsie and Adam left." He said to her.

"Good. I hope they have a good time and really get to know each other." She smiled as she put Daniel in the crib. He was sleeping for his nap.

John smiled and took her hand and led her out of the room and downstairs. They sat down on the sofa and John turned on the radio.

"I'm glad you came around about Chelsie and Adam." He said as they sat there listening to the soft music.

"He is a nice guy. And Chelsie has to move on. She can't mourn forever I realize that. The heart wants what the heart wants. You can't stop that. And I want her to be happy."

"She will be and I think Adam can do that." He kissed her on the head as she rested it against his chest. She was happy he was home and now all she wanted was her sister happy.

Adam stared straight ahead as he drove trying to calm his nerves. He breathed in the scent of her perfume and bit his lip a little. It was intoxicating. Everything about her was. He'd dreamt about her the last two nights and the guilt those dreams had brought made him feel even worse. Could he act on his feelings and betray his best friend? She leaned up a little to pull off her sweater and he glanced over at her. She could feel his eyes on her and she turned to him and smiled.

"You alright?" He nodded. "How much farther is it?"

"Not that far." He said turning his attention back to the road. "I really appreciate you coming with me."

"It's no problem." She smiled.

Jessica and John were listening to the radio and relaxing when the door bell rang. John got up and walked over to answer it. He was surprised to see Kelly and some of the other wives from in town. He wondered what they wanted.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"We want to speak with Jessica." Kelly said to him.

"Just a minute." John walked into the living room. "You have visitors."

"Who?" She asked as she looked up and saw the wives.

"I'm going upstairs to check on Daniel." He kissed her and headed upstairs.

Once he was gone, Jessica looked at the wives. "What did you guys need?"

"We want to talk about your sister and this fling she is having." Kelly said as they all sat down.

"Jessica, you know this isn't right." Beth Batista replied.

"What isn't right about it?" Jessica replied. "Chelsie is hanging out with a friend. She can't staying mourning forever."

"But she has to mourn the approiate time."

"Who even says what the approriate time is?" Jessica sighed. "In Gone with the wind, do you think Scarlett cared that she married Rhett so soon after Frank's death? No, because she knew what she wanted and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her different."

"This isn't Gone with the Wind." Kelly said. "We mourn the right amount time."

"Ladies, you or me can't control what happens in Chelsie's life. You just have to deal with it."

Kelly and the others got up to leave. Kelly turned to Jessica. "Know this Jessica, we don't take lightly to things not being done right. You and Chelsie didn't grow up here. You moved here and then you both married local boys who should have married one of us. Be good to remember that."

"Kelly, your threats don't scare me. Mind your own business." She said as she closed the door.

Chelsie and Adam pulled up to his mom's house and she smiled. It was an older Victorian style house with a wraparound porch and bay windows in the front. Chelsie had always dreamed about living in a house like it. She got out of the car and smiled over at Adam.

"Wow, it must have been amazing to grow up here."

"Yeah. It was. Chris' mom...well Mom left it to us when she passed. I signed my half over to Chris on the condition that if something happened to him, I could sell it if I wanted to." Chelsie nodded. " Don't be shy. You can go on in. Just give me an inventory of what you need from the store and Ill get it for you when I run to town." She nodded.

Jessica walked upstairs to check on Daniel and John. She walked in the nursery and saw them in the rocker by the window. Daniel was sound to sleep.

"Did the harpies leave?" John asked when she walked in.

"They did. I wish they would mind their own business. What Chels does is her business." She walked into the room and took Daniel and placed him in the crib. She then turned to her husband. "Kelly said something that was weird."

"What?" He asked getting up.

"She said that they don't take it lightly with things not done right."

He sighed and took her hand. He led her to the bedroom and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about Kelly and the others. They won't do anything." He said to her. But he made a mental note to talk to their husbands about them. "You know we have this house to ourselves. What would you like to do since Daniel is sleeping?"

"I know that look Cena." She laughed and kissed her husband.

"We're so in sync." He smiled.

They spent the night just being together. Tomorrow he would talk to the others and get them to make their wives mellow out.


	12. Chapter 12

Adam came back from the store and walked in the back door. He could hear Chelsie rummaging around in the kitchen and he stopped and stared at her for a minute. Flashes of what life would have been like for her and Chris if he'd lived and done what he'd intended to do ran through his head. Chelsie in the kitchen, her belly round from the baby growing inside of it, cooking dinner for the family. Her lips turned into a smile when she saw her husband coming in the back door fresh from working on the car or working out in the garden. Only Chris wasn't her husband in the flashes of Adam's imagination. He was. He was the one who'd made her smile so brightly. And he was the one who'd caused her belly to be rounded with child. In his mind, he could clearly see images of the two of them making love on their wedding night. Of Chelsie giving herself to him completely. And the thoughts both excited and scared him. He broke out of his thoughts when her heard he calling his name. He looked at her and the bright smile from his imagination was still there. That was real. Even if the rest of it wasn't.

"You okay?" She asked. He nodded.

"Here's the stuff you needed from the store." He said holding the bags out to her. She smiled again. "So what are you fixing anyway?"

"Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, carrots, and Chocolate chip cookies for dessert." He smiled.

"Sounds amazing. You want any help?" She smiled and nodded. He went to the drawer where he knew the aprons would be and pulled one out of the drawer. He heard her giggle a little as he tied the frilly, flowered print around his waist and he smiled. The sun was starting to set outside and there was a slight chill in the air. He walked over to the woodburning stove and placed a couple more logs on impressed that she'd managed to get a fire going while he was gone. "You started a fire?"

"Daddy had to impart some of his wisdom to one of us. While I learned how to sew and be a proper lady, I can also build a fire, help change the oil and change a tire." She smiled. "Now let's see if we can keep you from burning water."

After dinner, Jessica let John give Daniel a bath and put him to bed. She knew how much John had missed of Daniel's first few months and she didn't want him to miss anymore.

"Okay, Daniel is clean and down." John said coming in the living room.

"Great. Now come and listen to the radio with me."

He sat down beside her and she moved to rest her head on his chest. "I missed this when I was gone. I missed you so much." He whispered to her.

"I missed you too." She said looking up at him. "I don't suppose you would tell me about it."

"It was rough over there. We were fighting for country but fighting for them also." He said softly. "We saw so many people die. Chris was the hardest. We tried to save him and everyone we could but we were trying to keep ourselves alive too."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Jess, I was fighting for my country and keep my family safe. I wouldn't have done anything less. Even with everything I saw over there, I would do it again. I would do anything to make sure you were safe."

She smiled at him. "You are the best." She kissed him. "So , how do you think Chelsie and Adam are doing?"

"I think they are fine. Chelsie is a great girl and Adam is a great guy. I know Chris would approve."

"Yeah I think he would." She smiled and rest her head back on his chest. She knew he was right. Chris would want Chelsie to be happy.

Chelsie watched as Adam pulled the cookies out of the oven and smiled. She'd just finished setting the table for them to eat. She almost felt human again. And she finally felt like she belonged somewhere. She knew she was meant to be in Adam's life. But a part of her wondered if he would ever see her as anything other than his best friend's widow. Would he ever see her as a woman? She looked at him, his athletic frame in his cotton trousers and his white button down shirt. She couldn't help the blush the crept into her cheeks as the thoughts of the two of them together made their way into her mind. Making love with Chris had been amazing but a part of her, the part she wanted Adam to recognize as more than just Chris' widow, wondered how making love to Adam would feel. How his lips would feel on her skin. How his hands would feel. Adam turned and looked at her, a look of concern furrowing his brow.

"Hey."

"Um...the table's all set. Are the cookies done?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Let's eat. I'm starving."

Kelly and the others met that night at her place. Her husband was in town at a poker game with some of the others. She wanted to discuss things with them. She wanted them to decide to kick both Jessica and Chelsie out of the woman's club. But no one knew she had a more sinster reason for the meeting.

"Alright, Kelly, you called this meeting." Beth said. "What did you want?"

"I wanted to dicuss kicking Jessica Cena and Chelsie Irvine out of the woman's club. I just don't think they fit in."

"Jessica has been apart of the woman's club since she married John. We can't kick out a Cena. That would be inapproirate." Beth replied. "The Cena's have been a part of this town for centuries."

"But she approves of her sister moving on too fast after Chris's death."

"Kelly, we are all well aware about Chelsie Irvine."

"Well we can kick her out because she or Chris were not brought up in this town. Chris moved here not long before he married her. So we have no reason not to kick her out."

"Kelly at this time I feel it would be in bad taste to kick Chelsie out. And this meeting is adjourned." Beth and some of the others left leaving Kelly,Eve, Alicia, Nikki and Brie.

Adam and Chelsie laughed at a story she'd told about Olivia and Jess from when the guys had been away. "She actually broke down crying and thought that we'd all forgotten her birthday." Chelsie said. Adam looked down at his plate and then leaned back in his chair. "Man. I'm stuffed. That was the best meatloaf I've ever tasted." He said. She smiled and blushed a little.

"Thanks. Chris never liked it much."

"He could be a little dense sometimes."

"And cocky. I'd always write him to be careful and he'd always write back that..."

"I'm the best in the world at what I do?" Chelsie nodded. Adam smiled. "Yeah, he could be that way sometimes. But on certain things, he had it right." Adam looked at her. "I mean he picked you right?" Chelsie smiled. "Seeing you smile is nice. You're pretty when you smile." She looked at him for a minute before she got up and walked into the kitchen with the plates. He followed her a little confused. She didn't know why the comment effected her the way it did. But she had mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, she felt butterflies in her stomach that he thought she was pretty. But on the other hand, he'd used the qualifier when she smiled. Was he just trying to make her feel better? Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt his hands on her shoulders and she turned around to face him

"You okay?" She nodded.

"Yeah. Just being a little stupid I guess. I just...wonder if anyone will ever see me as more than Chris' widow. Will anyone ever think I'm more than just pretty when I smile?" He sighed. He didn't know what came over him. But he pulled her to him and wrapped her in a hug.

"I think you're a beautiful woman all the time." He whispered. "Chris was a lucky man." She pulled back to look at him, the air in the room feeling distinctly different. She leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against his half expecting him to push her away. But he didn't. He wrapped one arm around the lower part of her back and the other found its way up to the back of her neck. He pulled her body as closed to his as he could no longer able to fight the inevitable. Her arms went around his neck and she held on to him as he slipped his tongue gently into her mouth. She moaned at the sensation. Chris had never kissed her like that and the feeling of being in Adam's arms made her head spin a little. But she loved it. She finally felt like she could leave Chris behind and move on. And she felt in her soul that Adam might be the one to help her do that. He pulled away for a moment and closed his eyes, still holding her to him. He'd just kissed her with everything he'd had in him. And there hadn't been the slightest trace of guilt. He opened his eyes to look at her and smiled to see her fingers gently resting on her lips.

"I'm sorry...I just...couldn't help myself."

She looked at him, still half in a daze from the kiss he'd just given her and smiled a little. "It's...alright. It's just...No one has ever kissed me like that before." He leaned in and kissed her again. This time, his fingers gently cupped her chin. Finally giving in to his urges was doing things to him. He could feel himself starting to get closer to losing all sense of reality. Every cell in his body was screaming for him to take her upstairs and show her just how beautiful he thought she was. But he didn't want to more too fast with her. He was still coming to terms with things himself and he didn't want to scare her away. He knew she hadn't given any credence to what those women in town thought of her. And he didn't really care either. But he had to make sure that they didn't get too caught up too fast. He broke the kiss and looked at her. Her lips were swollen and red from the kissing and her brown eyes were closed. God, how he wanted her. But he just couldn't. He brushed some hair out of her face and pulled back causing her to look at him.

"It's getting late. We should probably call it a night. We have a lot of work to do in the morning." She nodded.


	13. Chapter 13

Chelsie sat on the bank and watched as Adam swam around in the creek. The early spring sun felt good on her skin and she closed her eyes and held her face toward the sky. She kept replaying the kiss from the night before in her mind and the images of him coming inside the garage and now swimming in the lake. And she knew she couldn't deny it to herself anymore. She was attracted to him, she was in love with him and those feelings only grew the more she was around him. The guilt she felt about being with someone else was growing less and less intense the more she gave herself over to her feelings for Adam. She felt his hands on her arm and opened her eyes in time to see herself being hoisted over his shoulder and dragged into the waters of the creek. She let out a gasp as the cold water came in contact with her skin.

"Adam Copeland! This water is ice cold!" She yelled at him laughing.

He laughed a little and splashed water at her. She splashed back. He splashed her again. She splashed back and swam over to him a little. She smiled at him and then dunked his head under the water. He reemerged a second later spitting and sputtering water from his face. She took the chance to make a break for the bank laughing the whole time. He wiped his eyes and caught her when she was almost to the blanket. He grabbed her by her sides and they fell on the blanket laughing. She laid there, looking up into those beautiful green eyes, desperately trying to catch her breath. He was on his side, his face turned toward her, desperately struggling for breath himself. He looked down at her, her wet hair fanned across the blanket, her alabaster skin turning slightly pink in the sun bringing out the deep blue hue of her bathing suit. He brushed some bangs out of her face, his eyes tracing her lips as his fingers brushed down her cheek. Her hand grasped his wrist gently and she turned her head slightly, her rosy lips grazing the palm of his hand.

She turned her gaze back to his face and smiled when he leaned down and kissed her. He pulled her to him, his fingers gently curling in her dark hair as he deepened the kiss. His hands brushed down her sides and the length of her legs. The urge, the need to take things further with her was growing stronger and the feeling was so sweet. He kissed down her face and her neck before he stopped and looked at her. His fingers traced the neckline of her bathing suit and he loved the way her velvety skin felt under his touch. "Chels...I..." She placed her finger to his lips and smiled up at him. She leaned up and kissed his lips again as she let her hands trace the muscles of his chest. Her touch was feathery and light and it was driving Adam insane. He closed his eyes and a soft moan escaped him against her lips.

He untied the top of her bathing suit and slid it gently down her body exposing her breasts to him for the first time. He ran his fingers between them and down her stomach. She arched up to meet him and moaned softly. The sound turned him on even more. He pulled her bathing suit down the rest of the way and took in a breath as he saw her. She was more beautiful than he'd ever imagined. He stood up and offered her his hand, helping her from the blanket. She stood and watched him as he stood, ridding himself of his swim trunks as he went. Adam pulled her to him, her breasts crushing against his chest and kissed her deeply. His hands rested on either side of her hips and he picked her up supporting her weight on his thighs. She held on to him, arms around his neck, hands gripping his shoulders tightly as he gently guided them back down on the comfort of the blanket.

He could feel the heat radiating between them as he kissed gently down her body and then made his way back up. She gasped as she felt a finger gently slip inside her and begin to move. Sex with Chris had been amazing but it had never been anything like this. "You're so beautiful." He whispered against her ear as his lips lavished her neck with a soft kiss. She barely heard it. She was in pure euphoria as he worked his finger inside her gently. She pulled him closer and could feel his manhood against her leg. She bit her lip and smiled as his lips claimed hers again and he gently slipped himself inside of her. He stopped for a second, giving her time to adjust to him before he moved himself in and out of her. He moved with slow, deliberate precision so that he could make the afternoon last for as close to forever as he could. She held on to him, enjoying every kiss, every time he would move inside of her and bring their bodies closer together. A few minutes later, they both came together and they laid their breathlessly on the blanket wrapped in each other's arms. Chelsie lay on his chest, her fingers running gently down his chest. They remained quiet.

Adam came down off his high and looked at Chelsie wrapped in his arms, her skin sweaty and glowing from them making love. And he felt his heart break in two. He couldn't believe he'd just made love to his best friend's wife. He'd given in to his feelings and betrayed his best friend. She looked up at him and smiled a little.

"How about we head back and I fix us some dinner? It's a nice night. We can sit out on the porch." He nodded. She put the bathing suit back on and watched as he put on his swim trunks again. He seemed different somehow. But she couldn't put her finger on it. She felt too amazing to care at the moment. She'd finally managed to begin to let Chris go and give Adam her heart.


	14. Chapter 14

Chelsie made dinner and sat it down in front of them. She smiled over at Adam who had been curiously silent since right after they'd made love.  
>"So how soon do you expect to sell this place?" She asked.<p>

"Realtor said it could be gone in a few days."

"Have you found a place yet?" He shook his head. "Well, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure Jess and John wouldn't mind if..."

"I'm going to stay with Randy and Olivia until I find something." He snapped. She looked at him, trying to mask the hurt in her eyes and nodded. "Listen, Chels...about earlier..."

"I know we didn't expect for it to happen but I was nice." She said.

"It was a mistake. We just got carried away."

"Adam, you don't mean..."

"Yeah, I do. I mean it. So let's just forget that it ever happened and leave it at that." He said as he pushed his plate away. "I'm not so hungry after all. I'll see you in the morning." He said as he walked past her and put of the kitchen. She sat there for a moment, looking at the plate in front of her before she got up and walked to the room she'd been sleeping in. She curled up on the bed, crying herself to sleep.

Jessica and John sat down to dinner that evening. Jessica couldn't help but wonder what Chelsie was doing. She hoped she was okay.

"You know Chelsie and Adam should be back in a few days." John said.

"I hope everything is going okay."

"I'm sure it is. Hopefully this will help them both heal."

"I hope so." She smiled. "So, what are your plans now?"

"I thought about getting my job back at the factory. Randy is too."

'That's great. I'm really glad you're back."

"So am I sweetie. To that fact, I was thinking we could have another baby."

"John, Daniel is only like six months old. I think it's too soon to have another baby."

"I know he isn't that old but I missed everything with him and we always said we wanted more kids."

She thought for a minute about things. She did want to have more kids. "I'll tell you what. Let's just let things happen. Leave it up to a higher power so to speak. If we get pregnant right away okay but if we don't that's okay too."

"So you will stop using your little thingy."

She had to laugh at her husband. "Okay, please don't say it like that. It's a diaphragm and yes I will stop okay."

"Great." He smiled. He really hoped they would have another baby. He hated that he missed out on most of her pregnancy and Daniel's first few months. He wanted to make that up to her.

Adam sat out on the porch and closed his eyes willing the sound of Chelsie's sobs to leave his ears. He felt horrible that he pushed her away but he couldn't dishonor Chris's memory anymore than he had. He closed his eyes, feeling horrible about himself. He loved her. And he had enjoyed making love to her at the creek more than she would ever know. But that would be the only time they could ever do it.

"Please forgive me Chris. I am so sorry."

Chelsie laid in the room crying. She didn't understand why he could think it was a mistake. She'd felt a connection to him. A deeper connection than she'd ever felt before and she'd known that he'd felt it too. Or, she told herself, she'd been so desperate to feel something other than the pain of Chris' death that she'd let herself believe the feelings he'd had for her had been real. But they hadn't been. They'd been all in her mind and he'd gotten what he wanted from her and now, she just looked like the sad, pathetic fool she was. She was ready to go home to her family.

"I do not want to go to this meeting." Jessica said as she got ready for the women's club meeting. "Why do we even have to have it?"

"Because it is the tradition of the ladies in town." John said as he held Daniel. "Besides, I'm looking forward to a few hours with Daniel alone. Father/son bonding."

"Alright." She laughed grabbing her coat. "Make sure you take care of him. I will see you when the meeting is over."

"Okay. Love you."

"I love you too." She kissed him and then kissed Daniel on the head. "And I love you."

She smiled at them and headed out. She hoped this meeting was calm. The last thing she wanted was drama.

"I will see you in a little while. We will be just fine." John said.

She got into the car and drove to where the meeting was held. She saw some of the others already there.

"Jessica, nice to see you." Kelly said very sweetly.

"Kelly." She said to her. She was shocked that Kelly was being sweet.

Kelly smiled as Jessica sat down by Natalya and Beth. She had agreed to play nice with her but she didn't like it.

"Attention. This meeting is called to order." Beth said as she got up. "This is our monthly meeting and the agenda tonight is our annual fundraiser. We have once again decided to do a bake sale. Each of you is requires to bake something for it. All the proceeds will help our widows from this war. As all of you know, we have had quite a few."

"What type of food?" Kelly asked.

"Bake goods. Cakes, pies, brownies, cookies and things like that." Beth replied. "You can make more than one thing but we ask that you do at least one. Jessica, please let Chelsie know we would like her to bake something too."

Jessica nodded and listened to the rest of the meeting. Once it was over, she headed back home. She couldn't shake the feeling that Kelly was up to something. But she decided to shrug it off. She just wanted to snuggle with John and Daniel and forget about those crazy women.

Chelsie woke up in the early hours of the morning and went into the bathroom washing her face. She was determined not to let Adam know have badly his words had affected her. She walked down into the kitchen and made breakfast quietly. He came into the kitchen a few minutes later and looked at her as she sat at the table eating.

"We should head back soon. Do you have everything all packed up?"

"Yeah. All packed and ready to go."

"Great. I wanted to thank…"

"Look, we don't have to try and be friends here okay? As you can see, I'm fine. And I think it would be best if after you dropped me off at home, if we never saw each other again. You kept your promise to Chris. You got me through his death. And I appreciate it. But you're right. What happened at the creek was a mistake and it would be a better idea for all of us."

"Don't be like this Chelsie."

"Be like what? Can we just get started on the trip home and get this over with." Adam sighed and nodded.

After breakfast they both went and got their stuff and headed back home. The car ride was silent as they did. Adam looked over at Chelsie who was looking out the window. He sighed. He hated that this happened. They had been friends and now it was ruined. They soon pulled into the driveway of John and Jessica's house.

"Hey, you're home. How was the trip?" Jessica said walking out of the house. She noticed Chelsie's expression.

"It was fine." Chelsie said walking past her into the house.

"What happended?" She asked Adam.

"Just a lot." He said as John walked up.

"I just saw Chels. Is everything okay?"

"I'm going to go check on her." Jessica said walking back to the house leaving Adam and John.

John turned to Adam. "What the heck happened?" Adam sighed and told him everything. "You told her it was a mistake? How stupid are you? You didn't dishonor Chris' memory. He would have been cool with this. He loved both of you and would want you to be happy."

"It doesn't matter now. She never wants to see me again." Adam said.

"You really do love her? You're not just saying that?"

Adam nodded. "I really do love her. Maybe she's right though. Maybe the two of us never seeing each other again is for the best." He ran his hands down his face. "I'll see you around John." He said as he got in the car and drove off toward Randy and Olivia's house.

Chelsie walked into her bedroom and began to unpack her things. She looked up when Jess walked to the door and knocked.

"You need some help?" Chelsie shook her head.

"I think I can get it but you can help if you want." Jess nodded and sat down on the end of the bed. "So the women's group is having a bake sale. They want you to make something." Chelsie nodded.

"You aren't going to ask what happened?"

"Nope. But if you wanted to tell me, I'd be willing to listen."

"We made love Jess. It was amazing. We went down by the creek about a mile from the house. It wasn't planned. It just kind of happened. But afterward, he changed somehow. We got back to the house and I made dinner. He told me it was a mistake. That it never should have happened. I cried myself to sleep that night thinking what a fool I'd been. I don't understand how I could have thought he loved me too." Chelsie said sniffing. "I got up the next morning, washed my face and went downstairs. I made breakfast and then I told him that I never wanted to see him again. I told him that I thought it was all for the best."


	15. Chapter 15

Over the next few weeks, Adam had stayed out of sight. He'd gone to work at the factory and gone to Randy and Olivia's after his shift. He'd sold the house and put that money in a trust account that would ultimately go to Chelsie. He'd been a zombie and from what he'd heard from John, Chelsie hadn't been much better. Still, Adam couldn't give in to his feelings. He couldn't trust them. He'd done that once and he'd not only disgraced Chris' memory but ruined his friendship with Chelsie in the process.

Jessica looked at her sister who was very pale. "Chelsie, maybe you should go to the doctor and see what's going on? I don't want you to get sick."

"I'm fine Jess. Just tired."

"Alright." Jessica wondered if she was tired because she was up late thinking Adam, Chris and the situation. "Chelsie, you shouldn't feel bad about moving on. You have to at one pont."

"I thought I was suppose to wait."

"I was wrong about that. You should follow your heart. Chris would want you to be happy and I think he would approve of you and Adam."

"Yeah, well maybe waiting it out is the best option for me. Maybe I'm not supposed to worry about that now. I was wrong about Adam. Things just weren't meant to happen with us."

"Yes they were. And he'll see that in time. Now how about we take a nap? I am husband and son free for a while."

"You go on a head. I think I'm going to sit in the living room and read for a while." Chelsie said. Jessica nodded and headed upstairs. Chelsie grabbed a book from the bookshelf and sat on the couch.

Kelly strode up to the house, a smirk on her face. Chelsie's behavior had gone wildly unpunished so far. And that was unexceptable. The whore needed to be taught a lesson. Not only for disgracing Chris' memory but for stealing him out from underneath her. And if the other women in town wouldn't do it, she was going to have flames caught her attention and made her realize what she had done. But it was too late. The flames had already caught on the side of the house even before the gas can and the book of matches dropped almost silently to the ground. She took off running back the way she came.

Randy arrived at the house and saw Kelly disappearing into the woods. He wondered what she was doing there. He drove up to the house and saw the flames. He got out of the car quickly and ran to the house. He banged on the door and no one answered. He knew John was in town with Daniel.

"Jessica, Chelsie." He yelled through the door. He banged again and tried to open the door.

"Randy." Adam said running up. He had been coming to talk to Chelsie when he saw the fire.

"I can't get in."

"Is anyone inside?" Adam hoped Chelsie or Jessica wasn't.

"I think Chelsie and Jessica are. I saw John in town with Daniel." Randy said to him.

They both tried banging on the door. They both kicked it in at the same causing the door to give way. They saw the flames inside the house already. They were already in the kitchen.

"I will check upstairs. You check down here." Randy said to him. He quickly made his way upstairs. He made his way through the smoke. He knew the fire was raging and he had get anyone out.

He came to the master bedroom and saw Jessica on the floor. He covered his mouth and headed in. He picked her up and started downstairs. He saw the flames spreading from the kitchen. He quickly made his way out of the house. He saw Adam out there with Chelsie. He put Jessica on the ground and tried to wake her up but she wouldn't.

Adam watched Randy go upstairs and he started looking downstairs while watching to see where the flames were. The flames were inching closer and closer to the living room. He coughed against the thick black smoke filling the house desperate to see if anyone was in there. His heart sank the minute he found her. She was at the bottom of the living room stairs, her face streaked with soot. She'd been trying to get to Jessica. But he'd guessed the smoke had over come here. He picked her up and carried her out of the house frantically and placed her on the lawn.

"Chels...open your eyes Chels...C'mon damn it. Open your eyes." He said as he frantically administered CPR. After about the third set of compressions, she coughed a little and opened her eyes. She focused her eyes and looked up at him. She could have sworn she saw him breathe a sigh of relief. Randy came running outside with Jessica in his arms and loaded her into the car. Adam helped Chelsie up and into the car and then, like a flash he was gone.

They arrived at the hospital and told the doctor what happened. They immediately took Jessica back who was still unconsious. They took Chelsie back to examine her. Randy turned to Adam.

"Someone needs to go and find John. If he goes home and see the house burnt."

"I'll go and get him. Be back in a while." Randy nodded as Adam left. He walked over to the pay phone and called Olivia and explained everything to her. He said he would be home as soon as John got there.

Adam drove around the town looking for John. He hoped he wasn't already at the house. He drove by the diner and saw John's car. He pulled in and quickly got out and headed in.

"John."

John turned with Daniel in his arms. "Adam? What 's going on?" John noticed he was covered in black soot.

"You have to come to the hospital."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Jessica and Chelsie. There was a fire at your house."

"Are they okay?"

"I think Chelsie is, I'm not sure about Jessica."

John held Daniel close and ran out of the diner. He buckled him in and quickly drove to the hosptial with Adam right behind him.

Chelsie sat on the hospital bed in shock, her hand resting on her stomach. She couldn't have heard him right. She couldn't have.

"It look like you're a little more than a month along. Five or so weeks I would say." Chelsie nodded.

"It's lucky you got out of the house when you did."

"How's my sister?"

"She's being stablized. There was a lot of smoke inhalation. Its too soon to tell." Chelsie nodded again.

"Why don't you just lay back and rest a while?" Dr. Michaels said as he got ready to walk out of the room. Chelsie laid back on the bed, tears streaming down her face. She was pregnant. And she wasn't even on speaking terms with the father of her child. The man that she loved. How was she going to explain this to Jess? To Adam? To Chris?

John arrived at the hospital with Daniel in his arms. He saw Randy standing there and he walked over. "How is Jessica and Chelsie?"

"The doctor hasn't came out." Randy replied just as the doctor did.

"Mr. Cena?" He said to John.

"Yes. How are they?"

"Jessica is in a coma from the smoke inhalation."

"What?" John asked shocked.

"She inhaled a lot of smoke. We have her on a machine helping her breath. She has some plumanary damage from the smoke."

"Will she be okay?"

"It's too soon to tell. We are very limited in how we can treat this. We just have to watch and wait."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes."

John handed Daniel to Randy and followed the doctor. He walked into the room and saw Jessica lying in the bed with the machine nearby. He took a seat by her bed.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't there but I promise to find out what happened."

Adam walked to Chelsie's door and sighed. He didn't know what he was going to say. He had heard from Randy about Jessica. He hoped she was taking it okay. He sighed before he knocked.


	16. Chapter 16

Hey." He said walking into the room.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to check on you and Jess."

"We're great." She said.

"I think we need to talk."

"Nothing to talk about. You don't want me. I fooled myself into believing that you did but all the time you were keeping your promise to Chris. It's okay Adam. I get it. Thank you for saving my life. Thanks for helping me get past Chris' death. You've done all the favors you need to do. Don't do me anymore." She said. He sighed. "Can you just go? If Olivia is out there could you send her in?"

"Chelsie..."

"Just go." She said as she turned toward the wall."Please...just...go." she said, her voice shaky with the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Yeah, I'll...talk to you soon." He said as he walked out of the room. He walked over to Olivia who had shown up with Baby Jessilynn in her arms. "Chels wants to talk to you. I told her I'd talk to her soon. I...need some air. I'll see you guys back at the house." He said as he walked out of the hospital and got in his car. He drove to the only place he could think to go. To talk to the one person he could always trust to get his head straight. He walked through the quiet and the sea of cold, gray headstones until he found the one he was looking for. He stopped and looked at it for a moment, running his fingers over his best friend's name. He let out a breath and sank to his knees on the ground.

"Hey Chris, I know its been a while since we talked. And I know you probably know by now what happened between Chelsie and I. I didn't do it to hurt you. God that was the last thing I wanted to do. I was just trying to help her Chris. To help us both I guess. But somehow, I fell in love with her. And I feel so guilty about that. I never meant for it to happen. But I do. I love her with everything I am. I was going to tell her today. Come clean about everything. But the fire happened and I had already pushed her away. She hates me now. And I don't know what to do. There's this horrible ache, this hole in my life, in my heart. And she's the only one that can fill it. What am I supposed to do Chris? How am I supposed to fix this? You've got to help me. Like you always have. Just, give me an answer. Show me a sign of what's right. Help me figure out what I'm supposed to do." Adam said as he wiped the tears from his face.

Olivia walked into Chelsie's room. John had told her everything about Jessica's condition. Randy was keeping Jessilyn and Daniel.

"Hey." Olivia said walkiing in.

"Hey." Chelsie replied. "How is Jess?"

"She's not good." Olivia said sitting down.

"Why? I thought they got her out."

"They did but she had severe smoke inhalation. They have her on a machine that helps her breath but she is in a coma."

"I have to see her." Chelsie said starting to get up.

"No, you need to rest for now. John is with her. She will be alright."

"I need her to be. Olivia, I'm pregnant. And I can't do this alone."

"You won't be alone. You have me and Randy, John and Jess...and Adam. Did you tell him?" Chelsie shook her head. "He has a right to know. That's his baby too."

"How..."

"Adam told Randy and John what happened. He does love you you know."

"Sure he does."

"But he's got some of the same worries going on that you do. Both of you feel guilty about Chris. You need to talk to him. Both of them actually. And settle your feelings. Not just for you or for Adam. But for that baby now too."

John sat by Jessica's bed waiting. He didn't understand who would do this. That fire couldn't have started by itself. He held his wife's hand hoping and praying she would wake up.

"Come on Jess. You have to wake up. Daniel and I need you. " He listened to the machine breathing for her. He turned when he heard a knock on the door. He turned to see the police standing there.

"Mr. Cena, we need to speak with you."

"What's this about?" He asked as he stepped out into the hallway.

"We heard from Mr. Orton that a Kelly Gabriel was seen running from your house minutes before the fire was discovered. Have there been any problems between your wife and Mrs. Gabriel?"

"No. I mean not really. There has been some friction between Kelly and the other women in town and Jessica and Chelsie Irvine, my sister in law. The ladies didn't think it was appropriate for Chelsie to move on so soon after Chris' death."

"Do you think they did this because of that?"

"I don't know. Jessica said that Kelly wasn't happy and she made some veil threats but Jess didn't take seriously. The other women were not as bad or unhappy as Kelly was."

"Alright. We will talk to Mrs. Gabriel. We have to talk to Mrs. Irvine and once your wife is awake we will need to talk to her."

"Okay. I need to speak with my sister in law anyway." John replied walking to Chelsie's room. He walked in and saw Olivia there.

"John, how is Jess?" Chelsie asked.

"She is in a coma right now. They hope she will wake up but they don't know for sure yet." He said walking in. "Olivia, can you check on Daniel and then maybe sit with Jess."

"Yeah. Chelsie, think about what I said." Chelsie nodded as Olivia left.

"Jess will be okay right?" Chelsie asked.

"I hope so." He said as the cop walked in. "This cop would like to ask you some questions about the fire provided you feel like it."

"Of course." Chelsie replied.

"Ms. Irvine, do remember anything about the fire?"

"I was sitting in the living room reading and I heard a crackling sound. I didn't really think anything of it. Trees crack around there all the time. It was only when I noticed the smoke floating into the living room that I panicked and tried to get to Jess. I made it as far as the bottom of the stairs before I blacked out." Chelsie said.

"Mr. Orton said he saw Kelly Gabriel running from your house minutes before the fire was discovered and we've heard from your brother in law that there have been some words exchanged between you and the ladies in town."

"My husband Chris was killed in action eight months ago. I've been spending a lot of time with his best friend Adam Copeland recently. Kelly and the others didn't think that was right. She also hated me because Chris chose me over her."

"Alright. We will speak with Mrs. Gabriel and once your sister is awake, we will speak with her too."

"Alright." Chelsie replied.

"Don't worry, we will find who did this." The cop said before walking out of the room.

Chelsie sighed once he left. This was all wrong. It wasn't suppose to be like this. Jess wasn't suppose to be in a coma fighting for her life. She wasn't suppose to be pregnant and alone. Everything was not as should be. Would anything ever be okay again? She prayed Jess would be okay. She couldn't lose someone else she loved. She just couldn't.


	17. Chapter 17

Chelsie walked up the dirt path that led to Chris' grave after she'd been released from the hospital. She'd been replaying Olivia's words over and over again in her mind. She needed to talk to Chris. She needed him to help her figure things out. She needed to practice what she was going to say before she confronted Adam.

Adam sat by Chris' grave, silently waiting for some sign of what to do when he heard footsteps and turned to see Chelsie in the distance. He got up and stood behind the willow tree near Chris' grave, waiting for a chance to slip away. He wasn't ready to face her yet. Not until Chris had given him the sign he needed.

"Hey, I know it's been a little while since I've been here. And I know that I told you before what happened with Adam and the creek. But so much more has happened. Jess is in a coma. A coma caused by a fire Kelly started. I can't believe she hated me that much that she would actually try to kill us. John is beside himself. If she's there with you, please make her come home. We need her. I need her. I'm pregnant Chris. The baby is Adam's. I haven't told him yet. I honestly don't know how."

Adam stood behind the tree and closed his eyes as the smile spread across his face. He and Chelsie were going to be parents. He looked up at the sky and nodded in understanding. He'd asked Chris for a sign, a direction as to what decision he should make. And Chris hadn't let him down.

John sat by Jessica's bed holding her hand. Randy and Olivia were keeping Daniel for him and they were bringing him by later. The doctor had been by and said there was no change which was good and bad. Good because she wasn't worse, bad because it meant there was no improvement in her condition.

"Come on, Jess. You have to come out of this. Daniel needs you and I need you. Chelsie needs you. She is so confused about things with Adam and now the baby. You have to come back to us."

He sighed as he got no her. Why would Kelly go to such extremes? Why would she try to kill Chelsie and Jessica. The cops were trying to find her to question her but they had turned up nothing.

He felt her squeeze his hand and looked down at him. Her eyes were open and she coughed a little.

"Jess?"

"Where am I? Where is Daniel?"

"YOu're in the hospital. Daniel is with Olivia and Randy." He said softly.

"What happened?" She asked. "How did I get here?"

"Do you remember anything?"

"No, the last thing I remember is you saying you were taking Daniel for some father/son bonding."

John sighed. "Let me go get the doctor." He walked out and paged the doctor. He came back a few minutes later with him.

"Well, Mrs. Cena, how do you feel?" The doctor asked as he examined her.

"Like I sallowed sand."

"Well, that is normal considering."

"Considering what? What happened?"

"You don't remember?" The doctor asked.

"No, I have no memory of how I got here."

"Alright. We will do some tests." The doctor walked out leaving John and Jessica.

"Is Chelsie alright?"

"Yes, she is fine. She will be by to visit you soon." Jessica nodded.

"Chelsie's pregnant you know? She tried to tell me she was just tired but I know. She needs to work things out with Adam."

"How..."

"Because contrary to what those bitches in town are saying, Chelsie isn't a whore. She's only ever been with Chris and Adam."

"Yeah, about that...we think Kelly started the fire. To get back at Chelsie. Sheriff is on his way to her house now to question her."

"Kelly? She tried to kill us?" Jessica said shocked.

"Did you see her that night?"

"No, I can't remember anything. Why can't I remember?" She said starting to cry.

"Hey, you will remember eventually." John said hugging her.

"I want to see Daniel." She said to him.

"I will see if Olivia and Randy are here." He kissed her on the forehead and headed out. He smiled when he saw Olivia with Daniel.

"How is Jessica?" Olivia asked.

"She's awake and wants to see Daniel." He said taking Daniel from her.

"Does she know who did this?"

"No, she can't remember. Thank you for keeping Daniel."

"It's no trouble." Olivia smiled. John smiled back and headed to the room with Daniel. He knew he was just what she needed.

Chelsie sat there at Chris' grave, tears streaming down her face. Adam's heart was breaking. He needed to talk to her. He needed to make her understand that he did love her and that Chris had shown him everything was going to be alright. He walked out from behind the tree and sat down beside her.

"Chels..."

"Have you been there all along? Did you hear everything I said to him?" Adam nodded.

"I heard. And I think we need to talk."

"So talk."

"I was just worried about disgracing Chris' memory. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. But I thought if I pushed you away, you couldn't get to me. But these last few weeks, I've come to terms with the fact that you already have. I love you Chelsie." He said. "I know I'm not a rich man and I know I don't have a lot. But it's yours if you want it. I will be a good husband and a good father and I will show you every day that you are the most important person in the world to me. I love you Chelsie Lynn Irvine. And I know you love me too." He said as he brought his lips down to meet hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he broke the kiss.

"I do love you Adam. And yes, I will marry you."


	18. Chapter 18

Kelly ran into the house and started pacing back and forth as the reality of what she'd done sank in. She ran her hands down her face, the smell of gasoline still on her fingertips. Justin walked in from the backyard, a look of confusion on his face.

"Where you been?"

"Out." She said

"Fucking Barrett again?"

"What do you care? You've been fucking that mousey little school teacher in town anyway. Imagine how Daniel's going to feel. His upstanding school teacher wife getting it on with the hired help."

"Better than sleeping with a man because he's as close as you'll ever get to the one you really wanted."

She didn't say more and headed upstairs. She wanted to shower and get the smell of gasoline off her. She had to act normal. She couldn't let anyone know she set that fire.

Jessica sat up in the bed holding her son. She had no memory of what happened. The doctors said it was because of the smoke inhalation and coma. John had to smile at his wife holding their son.

"Well Mrs. Cena, all of your test are good. You still have some recovery though. It will be a few days before we release you."

Jessica nodded. She looked at John. "Chelsie's okay?"

"Yeah she is. She will be by to see."

Chelsie and Adam arrived at the hospital after talking. They wanted to tell John and Jessica everything. Adam stopped them before they went into the room. He smiled down at Chelsie and squeezed her hand. She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Are you ready for this?" She nodded. Adam knocked on the door and John opened it. He smiled and stepped aside so that they could walk into the room.

"We came to check on Jessica and...well, we wanted you guys to be the first to know. Chelsie and I are getting married."

"Well it's about time. Does he know you're pregnant?" Jessica asked causing Chelsie to look over at the bed and smile.

"How...?"

"I've been pregnant before. I know the symptoms. Adam, I know you love her and I know she loves you. Don't hurt her again. Or I'll have John and Randy kick your butt."

"Yes ma'am." He said to his future sister-in-law.

"So, what type of wedding did you want?" Jessica asked.

"Slow down, Jess." John said to his wife. "You just woke up from a coma. Give yourself some time."

"I don't know yet, Jess." Chelsie replied. She looked at John. "I'm sorry about the house. How bad is it?"

"Its not your fault, Chels." John replied. "The house has some damage. I have a contractor coming to see what exactly needs to be done."

"Do you think we will be able to go back there?" Jess asked.

"I hope so but I don't know."

The police arrived at Kelly's house and headed up to the door. They had looked everywhere for her and had been there once. They hoped they could find her.

Justin opened the door and stepped aside so that Hunter could enter the house.

"Justin, we have an eye witness that says he saw Kelly running away from a fire over at the Cena place. Is she here?"

Justin thought for a minute. She was his wife but she was also cheating on him. "She was upstairs." Justin replied. He knew if she truly set that fire, she needed to pay.

"May we look?" Hunter knew they couldn't look without permission

"Yes of course." Justin agreed. He watched the police head upstairs. He hoped Kelly was there and she would finally get what she deserved if she did indeed set the fire.

Kelly stood in her bathroom and finished putting her dress on. She opened the door and saw Hunter standing there.

"Kelly, we need you to come with us. We need to talk about the fire at the Cena place."

"I heard something about that. It's a shame really." Kelly said as they walked downstairs. "Can we do the interview here?"

"Sure." Hunter sat down in the chair while Kelly sat on the sofa. "Where were you earlier?"

"I was out and about in town. Then I came home and took a shower."

"Did you go by the Cena house?"

"I have no reason to go by that place. I'm not that close with Jessica Cena or Chelsie Irvine."

"We have a witness that saw you running from the house moments before the fire was discovered."

"That's crazy. I was no where near the Cena house." She said sweetly.

Hunter knew she was lying. There was something in her eyes. "Mrs. Gabriel this is a creditable witness. Do you still want to stick to your story?"

"I didn't start that fire." She said again sweetly.

"Word around town is that you've had a long standing problem with Chelsie Irvine."

"I have more important things to worry about. Besides, its none of my business if she wants to screw everything that moves so soon after Chris' death." Justin rolled his eyes and laughed. Kelly glared at him.

"Care to add something Justin?"

"She's had a grudge against Chelsie since Chelsie married Chris. She's gotten all the other women in town riled up because of Chelsie's 'improper behavior'"

"It isn't right and you know it." Kelly said with a sudden edge in her voice. "Strutting around town with a man and your husband isn't even cold yet. The nerve of that slut. And Chris chose someone with such little class over me." Kelly said. "Nobody would listen to me. Nobody would help me make her pay. I was just trying to scare her. I hadn't even really realized what I'd done till the fire caught. But a part of me hopes she rots in hell for being such a whore." Kelly continued before she could stop herself.

"Kelly Gabriel, you are under arrest for arson and the attempted murder of Chelsie Irvine and Jessica Cena. " Hunter said as he read her her rights. She was lead into the police car and taken to the jail.

Chelsie sat in Jess's room while John and Adam were out getting something to eat with Daniel. "So, I assume you want to be married before the baby comes?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah I would." She replied. "I'm sorry Jess. If Kelly hadn't gotten mad at me, this wouldn't have happened."

"This isn't your fault. Kelly is just crazy."

"So, when do you get out of here?"

"It will be a few days and then we can plan this wedding and get you married."

Chelsie smiled and nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"Terrified. But I love him Jess. More than anything."

"Good. That's how love should be."

"What do you think the women in town will say?"

"Who cares? It's your life. And nobody knows what's best for you but you. And for what ti's worth, Adam's good for you. I've never seen you smile so much in my life." Chelsie smiled.

"I was thinking we could have a small ceremony in the backyard. Just Randy, Olivia, the kids and us. I was thinking about asking John to give me away."

"I'd be honored." He said causing them to look toward the door."Nattie sends her best and an extra slice of chocolate pie to cheer you up." He said as he sat down next to her on the bed.

"She's always trying to make me fat." Jess said smiling. "How about the two of you head on over to the hotel and get some rest?" She said looking at Chelsie and Adam.

"We aren't staying at the hotel. Randy and Olivia have offered their house for a few days. Randy converted the garage into an apartment. That's where we will be." Adam said as he took Chelsie's hand. "And don't worry. I'll take care of her."

Jess nodded as they left. She had to smile. She was happy her sister was happy again. It was the only thing she wanted for her.


	19. Chapter 19

Chelsie sat in the court room one week later with Adam by her side. Kelly sat at the front with her lawyer, Michael Cole. She'd already explained how Kelly had hated her and what she remembered about the fire. The judge had considered the evidence and just found Kelly guilty.

"Considering the nature of the crime and the current mental state Mrs. Gabriel is in, she will be remanded to the state mental hospital for a time of at least 30 years."

Once court was over, Chelsie and Adam headed to Randy and Olivia's. Jessica was coming home. The contractor had told John that the house couldn't be rebulit. So John told him to bull doze the house and build another one. He hated to destroy his childhood home but there was no other way. So he and Jessica and Daniel were staying at the hotel in town.

Chelsie and Adam arrived at the house and headed in. John had planned a coming home party for Jessica with Chelsie and Olivia's help.

"John called and said they were leaving the hospital in a few." Olivia said as they put the finishing touch on things. Olivia smiled because Chelsie and Adam had no idea that this was their wedding.

"Maybe we should get you changed into something else. I have a new dress I made last week. Do you want to borrow it?"

"Thanks Olivia." She said. "For everything. We really appreciate it. And thanks for not turning your back on us because..."

"Chels, we've been friends for way too long for me to just turn my back on you. You and Adam and the baby are going to be so happy. Just wait."

Chelsie smiled and followed Olivia upstairs. John pulled up to Randy and Olivia's with Jessica. He had smile that she and Olivia had planned this wedding for Chelsie.

"Ready to go in?" He asked her.

"Yes. I can wait to see Chelsie and Adam's face when they realize. You got the minister right?"

"Yes, baby. I made sure." He smiled. He got out and walked around to the other side to help her out of the car. "Let's go get your sister married."

She smiled as she took his hand. They headed into the house. Randy and Adam were standing downstairs.

Both men turned and smiled at her.

"Welcome home Jess." Adam said as he hugged his future sister in law.

"Thanks Adam. Now you better go change. Because you aren't marrying my sister dressed like that." Adam looked at her confused. "This really isn't a coming home party. Olivia, Randy, John and I planned your wedding. As a thank you to Chelsie for all she did for us while you guys were away. And as a thank you to you too."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Bringing my sister back to life." She said as she hugged him. "Now go on and get ready. I have to check on the bride."

She headed upstairs and walked into the room that Olivia and Chelsie were in. "Hey."

"Jess, you're home." Chelsie hugged her.

"Well now that everyone is here. Let's get Chelsie into this dress." Olivia smiled and walked over to the closet. She pulled out the dress and turned around.

"That's a wedding dress." Chelsie said when she saw it.

"Yes, because today you are getting married." Jessica smiled. "This is your wedding."

"What?"

"Olivia, Randy, John and I planned this party for your wedding. As a thank you for all you did for us. This is your special day and I want you to have great memories."

Chelsie looked at them and smiled, tears in her eyes. "Now don't cry. You'll smear your makeup." Jess said, giving her sister a hug.

"Adam's getting ready." Olivia and Jess helped her into the dress and added some slight curl to her hair. Jess pinned one side of it back with a set of hair combs that had been their mother's. Jess had worn them when she'd married John. When they were finished, the girls stepped back from the mirror and admired the way the dress looked on Chelsie. There was a knock on the door and the girls turned to see John standing there.

"You ladies look beautiful. And if you're all ready, Brother DiBiase is downstairs." Jess and Olivia walked toward the door and Chelsie smiled when John offered her his arm. She slipped her arm in his and they walked down the backstairs into the kitchen.

Chelsie smiled as Jess handed her a bouquet of lilies and sunflowers. She looked up at John and smiled. Olivia and Jess walked out into the yard, Olivia taking a seat next to the red wagon that held Jessilynn and Daniel and Jess walking up the aisle to take her place across from Randy and Adam.

Natalya and Beth stopped fussing with the food they'd prepared and Susan, who had befriended Jessica and Chelsie when the girls moved to town began to sing. Chelsie took a deep breath and smiled when she saw that Adam was waiting for her underneath the willow tree. He was dressed in his uniform, a choice he'd made at the last minute. He turned slightly to see her, and his breath caught in his throat. The sun framed her head, shining through the raven haired locks. And the simply ivory dress Olivia had made, made her look like an angel. He couldn't help but smile as John gave him her hand. He held on to them, looking deeply into her eyes as Brother DiBiase began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Love is a very precious thing and it is not to be taken lightly. The Good Book tells us that love is patient, love is kind. Love bears all things, love is eternal. And there is no greater example of this love than the love shared by the man and woman who stand before us today to be joined together. Adam, do you take Chelsie to be your wife?"

"I do."

"Chelsie, do you take Adam to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." Adam smiled and leaned down kissing Chelsie gently on the lips while everyone cheered around them. "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Adam Copeland."


	20. Chapter 20

Adam held Chelsie close as they sat together eating at the reception. He smiled over at her still unable to believe they'd actually gotten married. He leaned over and kissed her.

"Can we please save that for the honeymoon?" John said as he, Jess and Daniel walked up to them.

"Like you and Jess don't do PDA." Chelsie smiled.

"True." Jess replied.

"Let me hold my nephew." Jess smiled as she handed her son to her sister. Chelsie was going to be a great mom. "You're going to be a great mother." Jess said smiling at her sister.

"I just wish Mom and Dad were here to see it." Chelsie said.

"I know but you've still got a lot of people around you who love you." Jess said. "Now, you guys should get ready to head to Springfield." Chelsie nodded and kissed Adam again before she walked into the house to change. Jess looked over at Adam. "Make sure you take care of her please?"

"I will never let anyone or anything hurt her again." Jess smiled.

"I know you won't."

Chelsie came back out of the house and walked over to Adam taking his hand. Jess walked forward and gave them both a hug.

"Call us when you get there Mrs. Copeland. And have a good time." Chelsie smiled.

"We will see you again on Sunday."

Everyone smiled and waved as Adam and Chelsie drove off. John walked over to his wife and pulled her to him. "Let's head back to the hotel."

Jess nodded and they hugged Olivia and Randy goodbye. The contractor was starting on the house in the morning. John had told him he wanted it like it was before but with some modernization. Once they got back to the hotel, Jess put Daniel down for the night. He was worn out from the wedding.

"So, Chels, looked very happy." John said as they got ready for bed.

"She did and I'm so happy for them. They are going to be very happy." She smiled. "I was thinking about things and I think Chelsie and Adam should live with us."

"I think that's something to consider provided they want too."

"So, you would be okay with that?"

"Yeah." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. They spent the night just being together.

Adam and Chelsie arrived at the hotel in Springfield and checked in to their room. He smiled at her and held her hand as they walked to the room. They stopped at the door and he pulled her to him, kissing her.

"This is still a little hard to believe isn't it?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't change anything about it. I love you Adam."

"I love you too." He said as he picked her up and carried her over the threshold into the room. The next morning, Adam woke up with Chelsie's head resting on his chest and he smiled. It hadn't been a dream. He was really married to her and they were really having a child. His life was perfect. He smiled to himself and kissed her on the forehead. She stirred beside him and looked up into his eyes smiling.

Eight months later

Chelsie was sitting in the hotel with Jess. She rubbed her stomach. Jess smiled at her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I am so ready for this baby to be here."

"She will be here soon."

"How are you so sure it's a girl?"

"I just have a feeling." Jess said. "So John said that the house should be done in a few days. I'm really glad you guys decided to stay with us."

"Me too. I am going to need your help."

"No, you won't. You're going to be an excellent mom." Jess said. Olivia walked in and Jess smiled at her too.

"Hey guys. How are you guys today?"

"Good. Chels is ready to have the baby."

"I remember that feeling."

"Oh yeah." Jess said laughing. Chelsie got up out of the chair and doubled over. There was a slight whoosh sound. Jess and Olivia looked at each other as the water rushed down her legs.

"Um….." Chelsie said.

"It's okay sweetie, It's okay. I'll get you to the hospital. Olivia, I need you to do me a favor and go to the factory and get John, Adam and Randy. Can you take the kids?" Olivia nodded. Jess grabbed Chelsie's hand and led her downstairs.

"How ya doing sweetie?"

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

Olivia ran to the factory just as the guys were coming outside to have lunch. Randy looked over at her with both of the kids. "Liv, baby what's going on?"

"Chelsie is having the baby. Her water broke a few minutes ago." Randy looked over at Adam and John.

"You guys go ahead, I will tell Jay what's going on and meet you there." Randy said as he walked inside to tell Jay. John and Adam walked over to the car and headed to the hospital.

Jess and Chelsie arrived at the hospital and Chelsie was taken to the delivery room. Jess sat in the waiting room. She knew Adam would be there soon. She hoped everything would be okay. She had faith it would be but she knew nothing was for certain.

"Jess, where is she?" Adam said when he and John walked in.

"She is in the delivery room." Jess pointed to the door. Adam quickly headed to it.

John turned to his wife. "So, how does it feel to be getting ready to have a niece or nephew?"

"I'm excited. I can't wait for my niece to be born."

"She will be beautiful."

"So, the house will be ready by the time she comes home right?"

"Yes, the house is ready. They are just putting the finishing touches on things."

"Great." She smiled. They sat down and waited for Adam to come and tell them.

They looked up and saw Randy and Olivia coming with the kids. John got up and took Daniel from Randy.

"Thanks for keeping him and bringing him."

"Not a problem." Randy said as they sat down.

They looked up and saw Adam walking out.

"How….how is she?" Jess said.

"She's fine. They both are." Adam said smiling. "I have a daughter."

"I knew it." Jess said excitedly. "When can we see them?"

"As soon as they take her to get cleaned up and bring her back."

"What's her name?"

"Christa Josephine Copeland."

"It's beautiful." Olivia said smiling. "Chris would be so proud."

"I agree with. That name is perfect." Jess smiled.

"I'm going see if they are cleaned up and then I will come and get you." Adam walked back to the delivery room. Chelsie and Christa were moved to another room. Adam headed out and told everyone they were ready for visitors. John and Jess went first while Randy and Olivia kept the kids.

Jess walked in and saw her sister holding her daughter. "She's beautiful." Jess said as she walked in.

"Thanks." Chelsie replied with a smile.

"Congratualtions to both of you." John said hugging Adam and then moving to Chelsie. He hugged her too. "She's beautiful, Chels."

"Thanks. Jess, do you want to hold her?"

Jess smiled as she took her niece from her. She held the baby close and looked loveingly at her. "She's perfect, Chels." Jess smiled. "I remember when Daniel was this little."

"Jess." John said placing an arm around his wife. "She is perfect, guys."

Jess gently handed the baby back to Chelsie. "We are going to let you rest and I know Olivia and Randy want to see you. I love you sis." Jess said hugging her.

"I love you too."

Chelsie smiled at Adam as John and Jess left. She couldn't believe how much had changed. She was a wife and now a mother. She looked at her perfect daughter. She was the perfect combination between her and Adam. She smiled as she had never been happier.


	21. Chapter 21

Chelsie and Christa were released from the hospital a few days later. Adam proudly carried his daughter into the house and was greeted by a smiling Jess who had been busy all day cooking and baking for the occasion.

"You're here." Jess said with a big smile. "The guest house is all set up."

"Guest house?" Chelsie asked.

"Yep, I figured you guys would want your own space but I didn't want you too far away. So, the guest house is all yours." She smiled.

"Thank you." Chelsie said hugging her just as John walked in with Daniel.

"I see you told them about the guest house." He smiled. "It's all yours."

"Thanks John" Adam said hugging his friend.

"Not a problem. Why don't you go see it and then when you come back we can have some food?"

Adam nodded and they walked back toward the kitchen and out the back of the house. There they found a house not much smaller than the one John had built for them. Chelsie smiled as she walked in and saw that Jess had decorated everything. She walked into Christa's nursery and smiled. Everything was perfect.

"Do you think they like the place?" Jess asked John as they stood in the kitchen.

"I think they love it." John smiled. "You did a great job." He pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"Thanks." She smiled. "Well, I think dinner is ready."

"Okay, I will go get Adam and Chelsie and Christa." John walked out of the backdoor to the guest house.

John knocked on the door and smiled when Adam answered. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing. How did you come up with the idea for this?"

"Jess and Chelsie are close. And family means everything to them. So it only made sense for our families to be close together." Adam nodded.

"Thank you. For everything." John smiled.

"No need to thank me. Just take care of Chelsie and Christa and any other little Copelands that come along." Adam nodded. "Dinner's ready."

Everyone headed in to dinner. They all sat down. "Well, since we have been through so much. I thought we would have a traditional family dinner." Jess said as they all sat down.

"Jess, we aren't going around the table and saying what we are thankful. This isn't thanksgiving." Chelsie said her.

"No, we aren't doing that." Jess replied. "I just wanted a nice family dinner. But we do have a lot to be thankful for. And I wanted you guys to hear this from us. We're having another baby. I'm due next Summer."

"Jess, that's great news. I'm so happy for you." Chelsie said as she hugged her sister.

"Thanks." Jess smiled. "It looks like we are going to have babies all over the place."

"Yeah we are."Chelsie laughed. "I hope you have a little girl."

"Thanks, Chels." Jess laughed. "A little girl would nice since we already have a little John over here." She smiled at her son. "But the only thing I want is a healthy baby and for the next part of this life to be filled with friends and family."

Chelsie smiled. "Me too." Later that night, Chelsie sat out on the porch and smiled when she felt Adam's arms wrap around her.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Just how happy I am. And how much things have changed over the last year or two."

"They have changed for sure." He smiled. "But I can't think of anything better than this. I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled.

Jess finished cleaning up the kitchen while John put Daniel down for the night. She had been very surprise when the doctor told her she was expecting. She felt arms wrapped around her waist.

"You're deep in thought." John whispered to his wife.

"I was just thinking about our life and how great everything is." She replied turning to face him.

"I know. I'm so grateful you are okay and we are expecting. I was so worried after the fire. I was afraid I lost you."

"But you didn't and I'm fine. We have a wonderful son and will soon have another baby. Life is good. We get to share it with family and friends. And nothing is better." She smiled before kissing him.

"Come on, let's go to bed." He nodded and they walked upstairs. That Summer, Jess gave birth to a healthy little girl they named Elizabeth Jane. Olivia and Randy had another baby, a boy named Jonathan Keith. And Chelsie and Adam were just as happy as ever with talk of trying for another baby before the years end. Life was happy, beautiful and promising for all of them.

Fifty years later.

Chelsie smiled as she watched her children fuss around the house getting things ready for the anniversary party. It seemed like on yesterday, she and Adam had been married and expecting Christa. Now Christa was a grown woman with a husband and children of her own.

She looked out at her sister and family as well. So much had happened over the last fifty years but they had each made it through and came out stronger. They were all family and happy.

She smiled when her granddaughter Sadie walked in holding Adam's hand. Even though they'd been married for fifty years now, she still got little butterflies in her stomach when she saw him. He smiled and sat down beside her, lacing their fingers together. Caroline, their second child walked over with her husband, Randy Jr. or RJ as they called him. He hugged them both and smiled when he saw their only son, Joshua walk in. He'd come along a lot later than the girls had. And after he was born, they'd agreed they wouldn't have anymore. He looked over at John, Jess, Olivia and Randy and smiled. There was only one person missing from their celebration. The reason he'd been able to have this beautiful family in the first place. He looked upward and smiled again, silently sending his emotions up to heaven for Chris to hear. He looked over at Chelsie when she squeezed his hand and smiled lovingly before he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently.

"Think you can put up with me for another fifty years?" He asked. She smiled and nodded.

"I think that's a promise I can keep." He leaned in and kissed her.

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who read, alerted, reviewed, etc this story. Your support means a lot to us. I also want to thank Hailey Egan Cena for being an awesome writing partner. We make a great team girl. Hope you all have enjoyed this story and continue to read our stories. We appreciate and love you all. **


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